Stay Close
by Harley Eve
Summary: The team has been decomissioned and have all recreated their lives. But life has a funny way of bringing good friends and romances back together. The beginning is right before Kuki's decomissioning, after that we jump to the kids' second semester of their Junior year. I plan to make this long, sweet, and realistic. Please enjoy some 3x4, 2x5, and 1x362
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **So, this is my first KND fanfic, so be a bit leniant please. This chapter is right before Kuki Sanban's (Number 3's) decommissioning. I know Number 5 (Abigail Lincoln) is the oldest on the team, but I needed her to be in these chapter since she really is like the older sister to the whole group and I couldn't imagine a decommissioning chapter without Number 5 talking to some of the kids.

This chapter is going to focus on Number 4's (Wally Beatles) anxiety about Kuki's decommisioning. I know in the show they're kids, but please remember for right now they're 12 and practically teenagers, so they've figured a lot of stuff out. I want them to be a little grown up, but not **too** grown up because they are still kids.

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**Stay Close**

Chapter 1

_Cruddy time… cruddy, cruddy time. Why did time even have to exist? _Wolly thought to himself as he tossed and turned in bed. Sure, time had allowed him to gain 3 inches in height over the past three years… but that was the problem. Three years had gone by. In the blink of an eye, his kidhood was gone. Pretty soon he was gonna be a cruddy teenager.

He growled and turned over in his bed again, then sighed, and curled into a ball. He would give up his added height for those three years back. That added up right? Three years for three inches… he was pretty sure that added up. Suddenly three seemed like the worst number ever. The number thirteen had a 3 in it. He had gained 3 inches over 3 years. 3 was just a cruddy number... but then he sighed again… Numbuh 3 was the only reason he was even thinking about this.

In 3 days, Kuki Sanban would be 13 years old… and that would be that. No more of her singing the cruddy rainbow monkey theme song… no more of her overreacting… no more of her girly girl giggle fits… no more forced tea parties… no more hugs… no more of her careless smile… no more sweet comments… no more of kuki's kukiness to brighten up the treehouse.

The thought was enough to force Numbuh 4 to kick his covers off of his bed and trudge over to the wrestling ring in the middle of his room. Sure, he couldn't stop time. He couldn't stop that third day from coming… but he could kick the crud out of the half-destroyed dummy in the middle of his room. He was good at that… he still remembered first designing this room. He remembered putting it together. He remembered when the dummy was still brand-new. The first time he punched the thing it cracked most of his knuckles. He then angrily kicked it, hurting a few of his toes. That was 3 years ago. At the time, he never thought he could do much damage to it, ever. It would just be a decoration.

Wally hated to admit it, but he had noticed himself getting stronger as time went by. He hadn't thought about it being connected to his age before, he thought he was just getting better because he was… well… the awesomest guy alive. But over the last few months, he noticed he was changing a little bit. He wasn't short and a bit pudgy anymore. He was leaner, and he was getting muscle. His face was getting longer and his features were coming out too. And then he was taller… yeah. He was still kinda short, but it was an improvement. He had flaunted it at first, showing off his new skills and strength, spending more time with a few of the guys playing whatever game. Taking up any chance he could to show off. He noticed beating up adults was getting easier too. He could throw the Toiletnator through a wall now no problem. He even juggled him once. Even Mr. Boss was easier to kick out of the way despite how fat he was. Time really was changing everything, wasn't it?

Wally gave one good kick to the dummy's "head" and knocked the helmet off angrily. Funny, he wasn't able to reach the helmet before…

"I thought a heard a racket," Abby said from the door.

Wally looked over at her and frowned, not happy about her seeing him lose his cool. "Can't-chuh knock?"

Numbuh 5 just smiled softly from under her cap and walked over to his bed, patting a spot next to her so he would sit down. Number 4 stuck his hands in his pockets and trudged over to her side, grumbling. But Numbuh 5 didn't seem to mind at all. "What's buggin' yuh?"

"Nuttin…" Numbuh 4 snapped, but refused to look her in the eye.

He felt Abby's weight shift the bed a bit as she lay back a little. "I know man… Numbuh 5's a little scared too."

This caught Wally's attention. He'd known Abigail since forever, and had rarely seen her scared. He usually saw her determined and strong. But once he saw her expression, he understood. She and Kuki were close too. He wasn't the only one losing… a friend. Even worse, Abigail was going soon after.

"This sucks," Wally said simply, making Abby laugh.

"Yeah… growin up stanks… Numbuh 5's gonna miss this… having all of us together. Goin around beatin up bad guys and such… but we all knew we was gonna get older. It's nature. It happens to the best of us."

Number 4 immediately turned his head away, an angry expression on his face. "Yeah? Well nature stinks!" He crossed his arms over his legs and let his head hang for a bit, sitting in a comfortable silence with Numbuh 5. "I'm gonna miss 'er…" he said without thinking. He deflated a little more bit at the admission.

"I know man… we're all gonna miss her," Numbuh 5 said sadly, placing a soothing hand on his shoulder. If it had been almost anyone else, he would have shaken the hand off and walked away, but this was Abigail. They'd been through a lot together, and he was comfortable with her.

But it only dulled the anxious feeling growing in his stomach. He only had days… _days_. And yet he had to act like everything was normal. "…what are we gonna do Abby? Just act like nothing's wrong?"

"Ain't it better than moping around and remindin' her what's comin'? Honestly, Numbuh 5's gotten rid of her calendar. I don't need no reminders. I just wanna enjoy my time with my team. I'm sure Kuki just wants the same thing."

And with that, Number 5 got up and left Number 4 to his own thoughts. He supposed she was right… he didn't want to depress Kuki… but he started to feel her slip away already. "Hey Numbuh 4?" she called before leaving. Wally looked up from his fidgety fingers. "You should tell 'er man. Before she leaves."

The blood shot to Number 4's cheeks and he turned away, hoping the darkness would hide it. "I- I don't know what you're talking about," he forced out. But from Number 5's chuckle, she knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Hehe. Sure you don't," she teased as she walked out, trying to end on a light note.

Once Abigail was out of sight, Wally hoped off his bed and kicked the ground, irritated.

He knew he liked Number 3, despite all of her annoying tendencies. Despite forcing him to dress like a stupid stuffed animal. Despite forcing him to play tea party. Despite turning into a feral animal when she was angry… he decided he _like_ liked her. But the weird thing was, he still mostly saw her as a friend. He still thought girls were icky and weird –other than Number 5, she was cool and all-… but Kuki wasn't bad despite the girliest of the girls.

But what was the point of saying anything now? She would forget it all in a few days. And then she'd be a cruddy teenager. And then he might even have to fight her one day… so what would it matter?

He looked up and realized he had walked around the treehouse. Next, he realized he had gravitated towards Number 3's room. He took a few tentative steps back, thinking that this was the last place he wanted to be. He immediately ran back to his room, jumped onto his bed and hid beneath his blanket, like his anxiety was a monster he could hide from.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ** Now we jump to 3 days later... the day of Number 3's decomissioning. This is a VERY bittersweet chapter. I hope you like it ^_^

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Chapter 2

Kuki curled up in bed, willing herself to go back to sleep. She didn't want to wake up. She had almost forgotten what today was, and had almost said good morning to all of her rainbow monkeys like she did every morning. But today, she didn't want to say good morning. She didn't want to go out and get some cereal with her friends.

She wanted it to be yesterday –no. She wanted it to be 2 years ago. That day she had jumped out of bed, excited for her birthday because she was going to have a _humongous _rainbow monkey birthday party. Everyone had pitched in. Number 5 had made her an amazing ice cream cake and helped her make the goody bags. Number 2 made some giant robot rainbow monkeys everyone could ride in and control. Number 1 helped her plan everything from food to games to rides to the show at the end of the party. He made sure everything went off without a hitch.

She still remembered how exhausted he was after everything, so she had given him one of her most favoritest rainbow monkeys to help him sleep better. He needed to relax more.

Number 4 though… Number 4 didn't want anything to do with her "cruddy girl party". He had done his best to avoid helping… but he ended up helping everyone with everything. He sat at the table with her and Number 5, stuffing the bags with sparklies. Grumbling, but he sat next to her, listening to her excited chattering about her party.

And then, he helped Hoagie test out the different robot designs he had in mind... a lot of them went badly. She couldn't count the number of booboos she had to treat for him. Sure crash dummy was practically his _job_, but she knew it was grueling work all the same. She tried to show her appreciation by letting him sleep with a rainbow monkey, but like a _boy_ he threw it at her face and said he "didn't need her cruddy rainbow monkey!" So she stormed out of the room, rainbow monkey in her arms.

To make up for it though, he volunteered to be the lead rainbow monkey in her play when she began to cry. It had made her so _happy_ that he would do that for her that she kissed his cheek. They both blushed and she giggled at his sudden bashfulness.

She missed that... the year after had been a normal KND party with a few friends.

This year... she didn't even want to open her eyes.

She groaned softly and closes her eyes right. She wished, and wished AND **WIIIISHED** that when she got out of bed, it wouldn't be today but two years ago… she promised to every star she could that she'd be a better student, a better sister, a better agent, and a better friend if she got ONE MORE YEAR... or a month... or a week... for goody's sake JUST A DAY! Just **a little** more time...

"Kuki?" Number 5 called in gently.

Kuki curled up into a ball. Maybe she hadn't wished hard enough... She heard Number 5 sigh as she walked into the room, and felt her sit on the bed. "C'mon Numbuh 3 it's time tuh go..."

Kuki didn't move. "Just a little more time..." she whispered.

"The transporter kids are getting antsy... they think you might have skipped out on them. They said they're gonna get you if I don't bring you down in a few minutes."

Kuki tensed up. They thought she would just run away? Become a traitor like Chad and Cree? She wasn't a bad person... she was still part of the Kids Next Door. She still loved her friends. She still loved her team. She still loved her rainbow monkeys. She was still... her. And suddenly she was an enemy... a teenager. But she still felt like a kid. Nothing inside her changed. So why were they treating her so differently?

She gently lifted the blanket off her head and sat up to face Abigail with tears in her eye "Have I changed that much Numbuh 5?"

Kuki saw the tears forming in Number 5's eyes. "'Course not girl." And with that Kuki fell into Abigail for a tear-filled hug. Number 5 hugged her back, trying to sooth her. "You're the same cooky girl Numbuh 5 loves..." Number 5 gently pushed a weepy Kuki off of her shoulder, "but girl, it's time tuh move on. We all need tuh grow up some time. Even Numbuh 5's gonna get decommissioned soon. But hey, we had some good times, right?"

"Bu-but I won't remember any of it. I don't wanna leave! We had so much fun and- and I don't wanna forget it all."

"C'mon Kuki. The decommissioning can only affect what's in here," Abby pointed to Kuki's head, "but it can't touch what's in here." Abigail pointed to Kuki's heart. "And trust me girl, Numbuh 5 knows you gotta whoooole lotta that."

Kuki held her hands over her heart and nodded, a soft smile on her lips. The tears in Abigail's eyes began to spill over a little as she looked at one of her dearest friends. Abigail pulled Number 3 into another hug and whispered, "Just stay close," in her friend's ear. Kuki nodded, pulled away, grabbed her favorite rainbow monkey, and then walked to her door.

Outside, Number 4 was restlessly kicking the dirt around with his hands deep in his pockets; but when he saw her come through the door his head popped up. "Uh... how you doin Kuki?" he asked gently.

Kuki wiped her nose on her sleeve and nodded sheepishly. "A little better."

Kuki noticed Number 4 frown a bit more before he turned around and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Good." And with that he walked hurriedly away from them.

Kuki watched him go, saddened and shocked. Why hadn't he just stayed with her?

Number 5 put a comforting arm around Kuki's shoulder. "Give 'im time girl. He might'uv grown a bit, but he's still got the IQ of a walnut."

Number 3 smiled half-heartedly and began to walk behind her friends with her childhood in her arms.

When she reached the main room the transporter and her guards were waiting for her. They were shorter than her and no older than 9. They both looked intimidating, but it was undermined by their size and youth. Number 3 immediately noted athat she could flip them over and run if she wanted… but she didn't. She knew it was time…

Number 5 placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled and hugged her again. "I'm gonna miss you girl…"

"Me too Numbuh 5…" Kuki gently pulled away and found Nubmer one standing besides her.

He cleared his throat and stood stiffly. "Well –ahem –Number 3, I'm sure I speak for the rest of the team when I say-"

Kuki jumped into Number One, giving him a tight hug. Number One tensed up and blushed. "I'm gonna miss you too Numbuh One…" Number One relaxed and hugged her back just as tightly. "You were a great leader…"

Number One sighed and pulled away. "Yeah… thank you. And you were an amazing operative and friend Number 3." Nigel immediately straightened up and saluted Kuki. Kuki responded with a similar salute, but then noticed Number 2 sobbing. When she walked away, Nigel remained in a formal salute, but tears began to run down his cheeks from underneath his sunglasses.

Number 2 was sobbing loudly, unable to stop the tears and snot from running down his thinning face.

"Oh… Hoagie!" Number 3 cried and threw her arms around his shoulders. They cried together for a while before finally separating. Hoagie squeezed Kuki's shoulder, and then let her go. She walked to number 4 next.

With her back turned, Hoagi looked at Abby, who was crying under her cap, and felt his heart drop.

Number 4 had his hands in his pockets and was angrily kicking the ground. Kuki just stood in front him and patiently waited. He stopped kicking the floor and looked up at her, and then looked away blushing which made Number 3 do the same.

"Uhh… Kuki?"

"Yes?"

"Well…" he suddenly lost his three inches. "Well, we've been through a lot together…"

"Yes?"

"And you're a really great friend…"

"Yeees?

"Um…" _Aww crud…_ "Um well…" _C'mon mate! Now or never! _"Honestly I really like-" Kuki's eyes sparkled as Wally's eyes looked down at hers. _You sheila! _"-d being your teammate…" he finished lamely.

"Oh…" she said, clearly disappointed. Number 4 cursed himself, knowing this was going to be a very awkward good-bye now.

But suddenly, despite his belief, Kuki wrapped him in a tight hug. Number 4 stiffened and blushed as she pressed against him. "I'm gonna miss you Wally…" she said sadly.

Wally hesitated, but then realized this may be the last hug he'll ever get from her. He hugged her back tightly and buried his face in her hair. "I'm gonna miss you too Kuki…" he whispered.

He felt Kuki start to tremble, so he pulled her closer and she placed her forehead on his shoulder.

"Stay close…" she murmured into his shoulder.

"I will." He moved away from her to look her in the eye. "I promise."

"Blegh! C'mon _teenager_!" one of the guards yelled and shoved Kuki towards the ship.

"Ay!" Wally yelled, grabbing the kid by the collar. "Watch it ya little ankle biter before I break yuh in half," he growled in the boy's face, making him sweat, and then released him. He glared at Wally but put on Kuki's handcuffs more gently. "Take care of 'er!" he yelled after them as the kid walked Kuki into the transporter.

"Yeah whatever," the kid muttered as he locked Kuki's door.

Kuki looked at her window at her teammates. Everyone looked back at her. Everyone had tears in their eyes or on their cheeks. She placed a hand on the glass. She knew she'd miss them, even if she wouldn't remember all the fun they had together. She suddenly felt the engine rev up, and her heart sank. She found herself focusing on Wally, hoping he'd keep his promise. He must have noticed, because he suddenly tensed up and ran to her window.

"Kuki!" he yelled through the glass.

"Wally?"

"I love you!" he screamed.

Kuki jumped a little and placed her hands on the glass. "I lo-"

The ship took off, leaving both Kuki and Wally dazed. Wally just stood there, letting the breeze play with his hair and clothes as she faded away in the distance.

Kuki watched Wally and the treehouse quickly shrink away and collapsed on the floor, hugging her rainbow monkey to her chest. "Please… please don't go…"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Alright so I wasn't planning on uploading until tomorrow **but** the lovely reviews and followers I've recieved for this story have forced me to upload a day early. ^_^ Honestly, I didn't think that the story would get so many views so quickly. But I'm glad it did.

So, this chapter is basically a general description of Sector V in the second semester of their Junior year. Everyone is 16 and... well read on to find out more. It's in a omniscient point-of-view (meaning it's told from the POV of someone outside the story who knows and sees everything for all you youngin's), but it's only for this chapter. We also have a bit of Rachel McKenzie (aka Number 362) included in the story.

I know it's a bit long, but I needed to describe all of them and I didn't want to chop this up into seperate chapters. And I took out the physical descriptions since that made things WAAAY too long. I only kept a bit of Abigail and Wally's descriptions. If you want to know what they look like, I fell in love with Orionstar's designs. She's on deviant art and she is AMAZING!

Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy your nice read. I'll be uploading another chapter with actual plot in a little bit. ^_^

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Chapter 3 (descriptions)

Shall we take a look at Sector V three years later?

Nigel Uno, Hank Gilligan, Kuki Sanban, Wallaby Beetles, and Abigail Lincoln all attend McClintock High. The same place they had hoped to destroy about three years ago.

First, let's check in on Nigel Uno. Nigel Uno is an A/B student. At the moment, he's focusing intently on his AP Calculus teacher's lecture, easily understanding everything he says. He's currently taking AP Calculus, Honors Chemistry, PE, Speech, AP US History, and Honors English 11. He's not a teacher's favorite, but all of them think kindly of him. They all know him as hard working, focused, and driven. But he usually avoids extra attention. He seems to want nothing to do with most of his teachers. For some reason, a reason he can't really put his finger on, he feels repulsed by them. He respects them, but he can't _like_ them.

Outside of class, Nigel Uno is known for being a natural leader. Overall, he's a nice guy. He has a few close friends, a lot more regular friends, and almost the whole school knows who he is from one source or another. But despite his natural ability to lead, he's humble and a bit quiet. He's not a social butterfly, or extremely extroverted in a high school student sense. In all honesty, people who truly know him would compare him more to an introvert. He likes to think on his own, and stay around a small group, but has absolutely no issue with the fact that people are naturally drawn to him.

Currently, his closest friends are Hoagie Gilligan, Abigail Lincoln, Harry Williams, and Chris James. Hank and Abigail he's known forever and are truly his best friends. Harry Williams and Chris James were nice guys who got along with Nigel. They both laughed about a few childhood interests, shared most of their classes, and their strengths. They all made each other laugh with jokes no one else could make sense of. They were all on the Student Council as well. Nigel was the junior VP, Harry was the secretary, and Chris was the treasurer. James McGarfield was the junior president, but Nigel was slowly making sure _he_ was going to be the senior class president. There were changes that needed to be done in this school, and James McGarfield wasn't going to do that. Chris and Harry had the same opinion, and were helping him reach his goal.

Also high on Nigel's list of friends was Rachel McKenzie. She was a cute blonde who shared a couple of his classes, and also seemed to be a natural leader. Except unlike Nigel, she was a bit more intimidating. She was a no bullshit kind of girl when she was doing something, while Nigel was much more lenient about mistakes –a trait that cost her the junior VP spot to Nigel. But Nigel seemed to admire that about her. Outside of business though, she was calm, kind and supportive. She was actually behind him in his AP class. But instead of Nigel's focus and drive, she was as confused as ever. She was nervously tapping her pencil against her cheek and bouncing her feet on the back of Nigel's chair. Nigel felt this and blushed. If she was confused, that meant she'd ask him to tutor her and that meant a whole two hours with her in the ice cream parlor where he'd get to see her cutely chew on her pencil, and he'd make her laugh to make her relax. Then he'd get to see her no nonsense side once she started getting the hang of it… and then he'd finally get to see her bright "I got it now!" smile… and then he'd see her take off with the homework. While Nigel can be unsure at times, once Rachel had something she was off and almost nothing could stop her.

He smiled to himself and then shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to focus now. He could think about Rachel all he wanted when they were in the ice cream parlor. If he didn't focus now he'd be useless to her then and then maybe she'd find someone else. Little did he know, Rachel was smiling behind him. She noticed him shake his head and immediately knew he was daydreaming and needed to refocus. She knew he was a driven guy, and that's why she always asked him to tutor her. She knew he understood almost everything the teacher was talking about. He was a really smart, driven, sweet guy. He was perfect for a tutor and- She started to blush a bit and began to swing her legs anxiously.

Shall we leave these two alone?

Speaking of 2, let's to go Hoagie- I mean **Hank** Gilligan. At the moment, he's taking the torturous class that is AP Physics C: Mechanics. _Why_ you may ask? _Why_ in the **world **would he put himself through so much **torture**?! Because to him it wasn't torture. It was fun.

At the moment, he wasn't listening though. He had learned something yesterday that had given him a brilliant idea for a machine. What machine? I couldn't tell you. Something with a gear here and a… lever (?) there? The teacher passed by him and smiled. As obnoxious as Hank can be in his class, he knew Hank was brilliant. Heck, every teacher knew he was _brilliant_… he was just overly energetic and loved to show how brilliant he is in all of his classes. AP Physics C, AP Calculus, AP Computer Science, Honors US History, PE, and Honors English. It annoyed most of his teachers. He was 16 and he was still doing that childish "_Oh!Ohohoh! I know I know!_"

But despite the groans of annoyance that would come from the room, he was a pretty popular guy. He was a jokester and a cool guy. While a lot of people told him his jokes as a child blew, he could easily tell a great joke now. Even better, he was more than willing –to his friend Nigel's dismay –to help good people cheat. He knew a lot of people in his AP physics class and his comp. science class who needed a little bump now and then. Heck, everyone needed a bump sometimes. He'd tutor them, but if he really knew they didn't get it, even after his amazing tutoring, he'd give them a hand. His methods are secret, and he'll rat out anyone who gives away his secrets. Some think he made a brain transmitter or something, but no one except those he's helped know for sure.

And that includes the lovely Abigail Lincoln. Hank and Abigail have been a couple since Sophomore year. It would have been Freshman year, but Abigail's sister Cree had suggested playing hard to get. That first year Hank had 2 superficial relationships that only lasted a few weeks. He and Abigail shared a couple of classes, and she always seemed to play around with him. It was like she understood him perfectly. She was a really cool girl. Smart too, even if she wasn't as proud of it. And she would flirt, but in a cool kind of way. Like she'd smack his hat down if he told a cheesy joke, or she'd give him a simple smile that immediately made him blush, or playfully steal his stuff and make him grab for it. He asked her out a couple of times, but she usually said she couldn't. Then he would see her with another guy and he'd feel furious… but he couldn't stay mad at her long. She was too nice and cool. Plus he always felt… happy when he heard her talk. Even happier when he made her laugh. He _hated_ seeing her seem sad, even if he if she deserved it. Soon enough, the boy would disappear and he saw what she was doing.

So, the next time he asked her out he made sure she couldn't say no. And she didn't. And everything was worth the wait. All the sudden his phone vibrates, and he pulls it out to see a picture Abby sent him of her AP English teacher's substitute asleep and covered in post-it notes. He chuckled and texts her back.

Since we're talking about Abigail, let's go to her. As implied, she's in her AP English class, snickering about her sub being asleep in class. Didn't he know that it was bad to make teens mad and then go to sleep. Sure she was nicer than most teens, but he was just too much. Speaking of… she crept over to his desk, opened the bottom drawer and took back her red cap.

She put it on over her black hair and sat back down, placing her legs cooly on her desk. She had her hair straight with a small braid in the front. Abigail Lincoln chuckled to herself as she listened to the teens around her chat about a party a week ago, romances, school work, and everything else, but Abby just put her headphones in her ears and blocked out the droning. Abigail Lincoln is a bit of an introvert. She doesn't initiate conversation, she responds to one. For the most part, she kept her head down and her grades up. But despite that, people seemed to like her. She was friendly and fun. And… well… her enemies were not. It always seemed like you were on Abigail's side, or the cheerleader's side. Very few people associated themselves with both.

Abigail's teachers were definitely on her side though. Other than refusing to get rid of her red hat, she was an ideal student. She turned in great work, made great observations without being annoying, was nice to all the other students, and was all around a favorite student without being a teacher's pet. She was taking AP English, AP Biology, TA'ing, Honors US History, Honors Trigonometry, and Adv. Martial Arts. She showed expertise in every class. But she never bragged. She was just smart.

She looked up at another smart girl in her AP English class and smiled softly as she saw her scribbling in the class's current reading assignment.

She's just that kind AP student everyone knows and most people are envious of. AP English, AP Bio, AP Calculus, AP US History, AP Japanese, student tutor and Adv. Ballet after school every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But very few people stay with her for very long. The only constant friend she has is a girl named Emily. Emily is a sweet girl, but a little slow. Emily doesn't hang around many people. But Kuki talks to almost everyone.

As far as I can tell, she doesn't have any serious love interests, but that doesn't mean boys aren't interested. She's a beautiful girl. But they're a bit put off by her success and sweetness.

But being single didn't make her unhappy. She never really thinks about it.

Here's one person who would think about it. Now I just need to find him- HA! There he is. Figures. First period and he's already in trouble. You know who this blond headed bad boy is right? Wally Beatles. In his orange sweatshirt and ripped faded jeans. Grumbling in the councilor's office.

Wallaby isn't exactly the teacher's favorite. He isn't the most **hated** student –that honor went to the guy that openly mocked the teachers... who was also one of Wally's closest friends –but his low grades still gave his teachers grief. Currently he was taking Adv. Boxing as a zero period, English 10, Health, World History, Algebra, Biology, and a tutoring period. At the moment though, he had no tutors.

That's part of the reason he was in the counseling office. Because he had no tutors, he was already failing his classes. If he was failing his classes, they would take extreme measures to make sure he could pass his classes. Like take him out of boxing. And he was great at it. He was great at any physical really. That's why the teachers and staff keep up a little hope.

It gave _him_ a little hope. He loved that he had something he was naturally good at.

But his slacker attitude didn't make him many friends. He had a few friends in his boxing class and a friend in Lucas, Abby, and Hank; but most people saw him as a slacker who got by in sports by natural talent alone. And Wally had no problem with that. He was proud that he could just slide by on talent alone.

He flaunted that fact with girls. Some girls like it, some girls don't. Like at the moment, he was sharing looks and winks with the student working in the counseling office at the moment. He was a pretty good looking guy. He had a cute and a hot bad boy smile, and the lean muscle to match. It made the girls' hormones rage and their minds go wild with all the YA book romances they've read.

Of course, here comes his counselor though, giving a look to his TA making her file faster and nodding for Wally to come into his office to remind him it's only the beginning of the second semester. Changes to his schedule can and _will_ be made.

So, let's leave before the raging fireworks starts shall we?

So yes. These teens are what grew from our dear KND. They all grew up very well if I say so myself. Of course, some are going to have more problems than others this year. This is the second semester of the former Sector V's Junior year. Shall we follow them? Maybe something interesting will happen to make this long chapter worth it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Yay plot! Alright so this is a little while after Wally gets in trouble. You don't get to see any of Nigel or Rachel in this chapter. I'll get to those two in a little while.

So just enjoy my little set up for Wally and Kuki for now ^_^

A little warning though, Wally's coach starts saying "bad words" so... yeah just a heads up if you don't like stories with that sorta stuff. I'm going to make this story kinda realistic in the teenage department (and not so realistic in the fact that this is based off a cartoon) so yes there's going to be cussing.

Enjoy ^_^

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Chapter 4

Wallaby Beatles angrily trudged back towards his English class. He didn't need this... he didn't want to go back to that cruddy class where he's surrounded by all of those stupid underclass men. He didn't need his teacher's "better than thou" attitude when she skipped him when she was collecting homework. He didn't need the sophomore girl next to him to offer to let him copy her homework while she was red as a tomato.

His grip on his backpack strap tightened.

He didn't need any of it.

He quickly took a turn and went into the boy's bathroom and quickly locked himself into one of the stalls. Inside, he let his backpack slip off of his shoulders as he fumed. He felt his anger bubbling up inside... they wanted to take him out of boxing?

He pulled a fist back and prepared to punch a whole into the stall. He put all his weight into the assault... but at the last second, instinct took over and forced him to open his palm and just hit the wall with his palm.

He looked at his open palm for a few quiet seconds before closing it into a tight fist.

He needed to go.

He picked up his backpack and practically ran out, almost running into another student on his way out.

"Hey Wally what's the rush?" Hank called after him.

"Not right now, mate," Wally growled, storming through the halls.

Hank let it go and walked into the bathroom, pulling out his phone to text Abby. _Hey I just saw Wally. He was pretty pissed off._

Abby texted back almost immediately. He guessed her sub was still asleep. _It's probably nothing. He's always been a hothead._

_Yah but I dont know this seemed really bad_

_K I'll see what happened later._

Abby shut her phone and gently tapped it against her desk. If Hoag- Hank thought Wally was really mad, he probably was. She doubted it was a good time to ask him, so she put her phone back in her pocket. She'd probably have to ask Hailey from the counseling office about it later.

Odds were though, it was about grades. She knew he had a tutoring period sixth period, but she didn't. But she knew someone who did. Her head shot up and right in front of her the genius Kuki Sanban was still scribbling in her book.

Abby calmly walked over to her desk and sat on the desk next to her, ignoring the desk's owner's indignant expression. "Hey Kuki."

Kuki looked up from her book and smiled at Abby. "Hi Abby! What's up?" she asked excitedly.

"Nothin' really just wonderin' if you could do me a solid. You have tutoring for sixth period right?"

Kuki's eyes widened a little. "Yeah. Do you want me to tutor you?"

Abby leaned back and smiled. "Nah nah I'm good Kuki. Thanks though. I'm actually asking for a friend of mine. He's havin' a lot of trouble in his classes n I was wonderin if you could help him out.

Kuki smiled. "Sure. Who is he?"

"Umm..." Abby rubbed her neck. She knew Wally had a reputation... she wasn't _completely_ sure if Kuki would help him. "Oh... you might know him. He's already in that period."

"Maybe," Kuki giggled for no reason. "But what's his name, silly?"

"Um... You know Wallaby Beetles right?"

Kuki Sanban hesitated. Of course she knew Wallaby Beetles. All the 6th period tutors knew him. Even with the best students tutoring him, he could barely pass his tests with a C- so this semester all of his tutors had asked to be reassigned.

For the past two weeks, she'd seen him just faking his homework when he was really reading ninja comics.

"Yeah... I've heard of him."

"Well, the kid doesn't have any tutors right now and well, I know you're busy with your AP's and everything but I was wonderin' if you could, you know, help 'im out. For old time's sake."

"Huh?"

Kuki saw Abigail blink. "You guys were close in elementary school and went to the same middle school didn't you?"

"I... I think so. My parents would show me pictures of us when we were little."

"C'mon Kuki. The guy really needs some help and I know you're the perfect girl for him."

Kuki's eyes lit up for a second. "Is there something wrong?"

Abby sighed and started kicking her feet in the air, her face an expression of sympathy. "I think so. My boyfriend Hank just saw him and he didn't look so good..."

Kuki thought about this for a moment until it hit her. "He's in boxing isn't he?"

Abby's eyes lit up. She put her hand over her eyes and nodded.

Kuki frowned. If Wally was failing his classes, the school would take him out of boxing so he could focus on his academics. Kuki knew how angry he must feel right now with that ax hanging over his head.

"Sure! I can do it for you," she said happily. She saw Abby's face light up.

"Thanks girl. I knew I could count on you." Abby offered a fist, and Kuki tapped it with her own fist giggling. Abby walked away, pulling out her phone to text Wally probably. Or maybe her boyfriend Hank.

Then Kuki jumped as she felt her own phone vibrate.

_OMG I jst herd u r gonna tutor Beetles!_

Kuki looked around the room curiously, but didn't see anyone look back at her. _Yes. So?_

_HE'S IMPOSSIBLE! OMG he's hopless u shouldnt waist ur time! :P_

_He needs help and I'm going to help him. It's my choice Emily. I'm going to ask the counseling office during nutrition so I'll see you during lunch._

_WATEVER! :(_

Kuki sighed and put her phone away. She sighed again and went back to annotating her book.

In the meantime, Wally had just finished taping his knuckles and was walking towards his favorite punching bag.

Once he reached it, he got to work beating the crud out of it.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" his coach asked behind him.

Wally kept landing punches on the bag. "I can't put up with them right now..."

"Bad day Beetles?"

Wally kept assaulting his poor inanimate victim. "They... wanna take, me outta this, class!" Wally gave the bag one last good punch before sitting on the bench and taking a swig from his water bottle.

His coach sat next to him. "I heard..."

"It's not fair!" Wally slammed his bottle down on the bench.

"Sure it is Beetles. See Sam over there? He's a serious guy about boxing, but he's still getting a 2.8. Rodney is keeping a 3.3. Alex over there is an idiot, but he loves the sport so he keep his grades at a steady 2.4. And you've got what? 2.1?"

Wally crossed his arms over his legs. "1.8"

The coach whistled. "No wonder your counselor was on my ass..."

Wally bowed his head and placed his hands on his head. "UhhhhAAAHHH!" he yelled, pulling on his hair. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Give more of a shit about your grades?" his coach offered a bit sarcastically.

"Puh... If it were that simple I'd be getting B's. I'm already failing math and English."

"Are you doing the homework?"

Wally didn't look at him.

"See? There's your problem. Homework is, what? Ten percent of your grade?"

"Yeah... but I don't wanna be in my room doin cruddy homework. If I wanted to keep doing school work when I got outta 'ere I'd just stay in the cruddy classroom."

"If you don't get you shitty act together that's where you're gonna be for a damn long time!" his coach argued, obviously irritated. "If you don't get your grades up they're never going to let up."

"Puh! Well I don't have any help anymore. All of my tutors gave up. They're all useless."

"They helped you pass your classes last semester."

"Yiah but then they left! And no one took me up. If they don't want me, who the 'ell wants them? I sure don't!"

"Beetles, you're gonna need help. And these kids'll help you if you let 'em."

"Idontwant'emto 'elp me..." Wally grumbled. His coach swatted the back of his head. "Ouch! That's abuse!"

"Do you love boxing?!" his coach shouted, pushing back Wally's anger.

"Yeah?"

"Then make the effort for it!" And with that he stormed off.

"Puh!" Wally took another swig of his water and turned away from everyone else in the room, ignoring that coach was now criticizing some other kid's body punches even though they were pretty good for his age.

The kid was pretty small and was obviously pretty new to the sport. Wally felt bad that he caused the kid's embarrassment, but then pushed the thought away.

As Wally changed back into his school clothes later, he checked his phone. **One new text** Probably Lucas asking what happened.

He opened his phone to a message from Abigail Lincoln. He didn't talk to her very often ever since middle school, she just hung out with different people. But they would occasionally hang out and talk. She was cool.

_Ey Wally. I heard about boxing_.

Wally frowned. News really did travel fast. _Yeah... theyr saying theyr gonna take me out_

_Well, I got good news :)_

_Oh yeah? Wat_ Wally shut his locker and began walking outside.

_I got Kuki Sanban to tutor you. :)_

Wally stopped in his tracks and grimaced. Kuki Sanban? The genius? Oh great. Now he's gonna look like even more of a moron next to her.

_Your kiding rite? Kuki Sanban? She agread to tootor me?_

_Yup. ;) Now, be nice to her. I asked her as a friend. And she's cool._

Wally frowned as he waited for the end of class bell to ring. He trusted Abby. So if she said Kuki was cool, maybe he'd give her a shot.

_And she's cute too. ;)_

Wally scoffed. _Fine_

* * *

**A/N:** I know I know a lot of texting going on but that's how teens communicate during class. haha So we'll be seeing Nigel (without Rachel, sorry) briefly in the next chapter. Chapter 5 is going to focus on Wally and Kuki's first tutoring session... I plan to have fun with that. x)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I know I said that this chapter would be about Kuki and Wally's tutor session but I decided to put something in the middle of it. I hope you guys like it I promise the _next_ chapter will be about the tutor session. ^_^

* * *

Chapter 5

The bell for the end of fifth period rang and Wallaby Beatles picked his head up from his biology book with his "work" stuck to his forehead. Some of the students snickered and laughed before he quickly pushed it down on the table. He slammed his textbook closed over it, picked up his half empty backpack and tried to slip out of class unnoticed.

"I want that assignment on my desk tomorrow Mr. Beatles," his teacher called behind him. Wally flinched a little and kept walking.

As he walked to his locker, Nigel Uno walked towards him. Wally kept his eyes straight forward, as did Nigel. When their paths crossed, Nigel looked away. Wally kept his focus ahead of him, but the grip he had on his backpack tightened. The thought of turning around came up, but he didn't act on it. He just leaned over and unlocked his locker, and shoved his binders into his backpack.

Abby saw this and frowned, unhappy about the situation between the two boys. Hank gripped her shoulder. She placed her hand over his and continued walking. There was nothing she could do to help that situation for now.

But then she frowned again, annoyed this time, when she saw that Wally was walking _away_ from the library. Abby was about to walk over and drag him to the library, but Hank held her shoulder and smiled at her. Abby sighed and wrapped her arm around his lower back.

Wally would do his own thing at his own time. Any interference would just piss him off and make him reject everything, even _if_ it was Abby doing it. She'd pushed him enough as it is.

He didn't even feel like going to tutoring today. Maybe roaming the school would be a better idea. So what if Kuki had to wait? She could stand to wait for a little while. He can just be tutored tomorrow. It wasn't going to help him anyway.

"Hey back off!" Wally stopped. He took a couple of steps back. Between the gym and the classrooms, some kid had his back against the wall with two bigger kids in front of him. Wally recognized the brat pretty quickly. It was the kid who got the bad side of Coach's mood.

"Whacha gonna do about it punk? Huh?" One of the guys pushed the kid against the wall. He was a good head above the new boxer –but a good three inches below Wally –and a good size wider. He was a definite sloucher, wearing two sweaters to make himself look even bigger.

The kid next to him was a pip squeak, wearing a wife beater to try to look cool and stronger. He reminded Wally of a rabbit with the way he kept bouncing around. He was about the same height as the kid, but a great deal bonier.

Wally suddenly saw a fire light up in the kid's eyes. "I said back off!" The kid shoved the bigger kid a good foot back, impressing the hell out of Wally. But the bully suddenly got pissed, upset he was being shown up by some twerp.

"You wanna piece of me little man?" The bully opened his arms and puffed out his chest.

Wally could see that kid still had flames in his eyes. He wasn't going to back down from this fight. But he also saw that the bully was getting his fist ready for a blow while he in the kid had a stare off. His lackey was also getting ready to attack.

He'd seen this scene too many times before on the losing side…

_You're not gonna win this one kid..._

"Ey!" Wally called out, catching everyone's attention. He suddenly wished he didn't have his orange sweatshirt on. He was pretty well known, but an intimidating edge never hurt anyone. "Why doncha pick on someone your own size mate?"

"Get outta here yuh damn Aussie! This don't concern you," the lackey retorted. Wally didn't miss the nervous flicker of the bully's eyes.

Wally stalked over to the kid and made sure he knew how small he really was. "Mind your elders MATE, 'er else daddy's gonna give you a nice ass whoopin." The kid practically peed himself. Wally went onto the bully, cracking his knuckles. "So, how are we doin this?"

The bully took a step back, a snarl on his face. "We ain't doin nu'in, Beatles. C'mon Johnny." The bully walked off with his hands in his pockets while his lackey trotted alongside him to keep up.

Wally readjusted his backpack and turned back to the kid. "You alright kid?"

The kid glared at Wally. "I coulda handled it..."

Wally sneered at him. "Tt. A brat like you was gonna beat a tenth grade giant and his rabbit sidekick? Sure kid." Wally turned to walk away while the kid was about to say something when suddenly...

"WALLABY BEATLES!" a demon screeched. Wally froze, stricken a familiar sense of fear. The kid flinched as well, his fear instinctual.

The kid watched as a very angry cute Asian girl in a green top and black rights marched right up to his savior who looked just as scared as Derek felt.

The girl grabbed Wally by his sweatshirt collar and pulled him down the five inches she needed to be at eye level with him. "You weren't thinking about skipping our first tutoring period were you?"

Wally seemed to be at a loss for words.

"WERE YOU?!" she screamed in his face.

"'Course not Sanban I- uh, just needed to go to the bathroom."

"HOLD IT!" Sanban ordered. Suddenly her fiery eyes turned to Derek. "What are YOU looking at?!"

Derek shook his head desperately.

"Then GET TO CLASS!"

Derek nodded his head like a moron, grabbed his backpack and booked it towards his pre-algebra class.

He turned back right before he knocked on the door and saw Sanban marching the larger Wallaby towards the library by his collar, obviously yelling at him the whole way.

Derek shivered and slipped into his classroom.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Yay! A Stay Close update! Alright, so NOW we're getting into Kuki and Wally's first study session. Now,this one was honestly a bit hard for me since well... I don't want them to get along very well. I mean, he just left Kuki hanging in the previous chapter, and then Kuki came over and just dragged Wally away so... yeah they didn't restart their relationship on the right foot, but what's better than to have them go from angry, to friendly, to love? It makes the ride all the more satisfying.  
And I will be uploading a second chapter this eveningrevolving more around Abigail, and then I'll be going into Nigel and Rachel, then Wally's household.

And because a lot of you are writing reviews under guest accounts, I guess I'll reply to a few of them here. Oh, and THANK YOU all for the reviews. I honestly didn't think this story wouldn't get so many hits within a month. :D

Tater006: That's not necissarily why I had Kuki so rough with him. It was more to make sure that he knew that she wasn't the type of person he could just overpower and slide past. While yes her aggression plays a part in his later affections for her, it's mostly to show him she's not someone he can just mess with... even though he will try.

Enough with the Author's notes. Let's get to the story XD

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Wallaby Beatles indignantly tapped his fingers against his desk as Kuki looked over his list of assignments. He still couldn't believe it. This little girl had dragged him half way across the school to the library. But Wally had finally shaken her off at the entrance. He saved himself the humiliation of being dragged **into** the library… but he still wasn't happy about being dragged to the library.

Kuki smiled at him. "So what do you want to work on today?" she asked happily.

Wally decided that her cheeriness was like a cheese grater on his mind. "Nuttin."

Kuki frowned. Somehow that made Wally feel worse than he already did. But why did _he_ feel bad? _He_ wasn't the one who dragged an unwilling person half way across the school.

"Come on Wallaby-"

"Wally or Beatles. Only adults call me Wallaby," Wally mumbled.

"Wally then. My name's Kuki." She held out her hand for a handshake.

"Puh..." Wally angled his body away from her. He didn't want to shake hands with her. It wasn't like he was here for pleasantries. She wasn't a pleasant person to begin with. But Kuki didn't give him a choice. Kuki scowled and grabbed his hand. "Hey!"

"When someone offers their hand you _shake it_!" she growled.

Wally snatched his hand away. "Hands off. If I don't wanna shake your hand, I aint shakin' your hand!"

Kuki narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll get an Algebra book..." Kuki got up stiffly and walked away.

"You do that sweet heart," Wally retorted. Kuki stopped for a moment, tensed up, but continued to match away from Wally.

Wally scoffed at her and pulled out his phone. _Wat kind of tuter did u find me!_ He sent the message to Abby.

Wally looked around the library, waiting for Abby to reply. There weren't that many kids in the library. Just eight kids and two teachers, all of them busily scribbling in one book or another. He knew the number would grow later on. Most of the kids who had tutoring sixth period were allowed to just leave, but the teachers knew Wally. They all thought that keeping in school would help him, but he knew better. Nothing they could do would help him. Not even Sanban the brainiac tutoring him. He'd had "the best" before, and none of them had gotten him past a C. _What did you do Wally?_

_Nuthin! She's-_

Suddenly someone snatched his phone out of his hands.

"Hey!"

Kuki dropped Wally's phone into her bag. "How are you supposed to study if you're texting?"

"I'm not _going_ to study! Give it back!" Wally shouted, lunging for her bag.

Kuki immediately picked it up and put it in her lap. "No!"

"Give it!"

Kuki turned away from Wally. "I said no."

Wally snarled. He knew the whole room was watching him now. He wasn't about to lose to some girl. He stood up and held out his hand, glaring at Kuki, showing off how much taller and stronger he was. Just like he had done to the bully before. "Hand. It. Over."

Kuki gave Wally a cold look from the corner of her eye. Wally suddenly didn't feel so tall.

Kuki picked up her bag and placed it on the table, then stood up slowly, menacing. "If you think, that I'm going to be intimidated by your _tough guy_ act you have another thing coming." Kuki looked Wally in the eye as he shrunk... and then she was a flaming demon. "I am **NOT** ABOUT TO LET SOME _BOXER_ TELL ME WHAT TO DO! ABBY ASKED ME TO HELP YOU SO I'M _GOING_ TO HELP YOU! SO SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, AND **STUDY**!"

Wally couldn't believe it. She was a bloody demon! A hellcat! Of course she was! How else could she have scared him like that? Something inside of him… something inside of him had known she was a demon! That's what had happened! Just like in all of the comics about demons disguised as demons he'd read!

All the sudden a white smoke appeared from behind Kuki and the flames were extinguished. Behind Kuki, the librarian was calmly walking away with a fire extinguisher.

Kuki stumbled a little under the force with an expression of shock. She then turned to the librarian and smiled, wiping off the white foam. "Sorry Mrs. Kelly. I'll be more careful next time."

"Just don't burn the books deary," the librarian replied calmly. Kuki giggled and looked back at Wally who looked dead white.

"Are you a _demon_?" he asked aghast. He was sitting down now, leaning far back on his chair. Obviously trying to stay away from her.

Kuki giggled. "No… I'm pretty sure I'm human."

The statement didn't seem to take him out of shock. "You lit yourself on fire..."

Kuki sat down and blushed, embarrassed. "Yeah... I do that sometimes. I don't know. People tell me it happened a lot when I was little. Like my dad once told me I got so mad that I turned the house onto a volcano." Kuki giggled at her father's ridiculousness. "I'm sure he was just exaggerating. My dad is pretty silly." Kuki giggled cutely.

"Yeah..." Wally said awkwardly, slowly relaxing in his seat. Kuki smiled. Maybe he wouldn't be too hard to work with now.

"Wanna start with Algebra or Biology?"

"You got an algebra book didn't chuh?" Wally snapped.

Kuki looked down at the text book at her side. "Oh yeah." she giggled at her own silliness. "I guess I forgot. So what are you guys working on?"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **All I have to say about this chapter is do the math.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Abby waited patiently at the PE gate as she waited for the bell to tell them all that school was finally over. Standing next to the gate was Coach Kelly, Abby's Martial Arts coach. Finally, the bell rang and Abby bent over to pick up her backpack, taking her time to leave in order to avoid the crowd.

"See yuh tomorrow Ms. K."

"Have a nice day Abby. Say hello to your sister for me when you can," Ms. Kelly called back happily. She had also been Cree's martial arts teacher throughout Cree's high school career.

"Will do Ms. K." And with that Abby walked past the gate, headphones already in her ears.

She walked slowly towards the front of the school towards the library. As she passed by the science building, she saw Nigel and Rachel walking towards her. Abby smiled politely when Rachel saw her and pulled her headphones out.

"Hey Abby!" Rachel called, pushing Nigel's attention to Abby.

"Ey Rachel. What's goin' on Nigel?"

Nigel smiled at her and shrugged. "Not much. Rachel and I were just going to the ice cream parlor to study."

"Hey! Why don't you and Hank come too? Hank is taking Calc too isn't he?"

Abby smiled slyly at Nigel for the briefest second, causing Nigel to blush. "No thanks Rach. Hank and I have some plans already. I'll see you two... later." Abby gave them a casual wave and received a dirty look from Nigel while Rachel blushed.

Abby chuckled and put her headphones back in her ears, she noticed a group of teens eyeing her suspiciously, but she kept walking.

She didn't have time for them. She needed to check up on two old friends.

When she finally reached the library she took a peek inside. Kuki and Wally were still inside.

Wally looked as lost as ever as he looked down at his algebra homework, but Kuki seemed to be doing a good enough job with him. She seems a little frustrated, but Wally had clearly made _some_ progress. The fact that he was staying in the library past the afterschool bell was a complete miracle in itself.

Then Kuki moved a little closer to Wally to write something on his homework. Abby smiled when she noticed Wally blush a little.

"Spying sweet heart?"

Abby smiled and inconspicuously turned around to face Hank, putting her back against the wall. "Looks like you caught me."

Hank, leaning cooly on the wall, leaned down to cup Abby's chin. "Don't I always?" he kissed her and then let her go to take a look himself. "Seems like he likes her… a little."

"Looks like she pissed 'im off a little though." Abby chuckled quietly. "Wonduh what happened."

Hank slid back to her side and kisses her cheek. "I'll ask him about it later. Hey, I heard the Candy shop just got a fresh shipment of chocolate..."

Abby chuckled. He's known her for way too long. "Sorry Baby, but I've got some kids to tutor too."

Hank groaned playfully, holding Abby's hands. "Can't the kids go _one day_ without you? The kids' probably have a 3.9 GPA by now with you tutoring them. And if not I could give them one." Hank winked, making Abby laugh more.

"Nah c'mon Hank. The kids've been working hard."

Hank chuckled. "Alright alright." Hank kissed her forehead. "Call me later though alright?"

Abby quickly caught his cheek. " 'Course."

Hank waved and walked off. Abby smiled at herself and walked towards the English building, placing her headphones back in her ears.

"Oh looks it's _CRABIGAIL_!" a girl called out.

Abby stopped and sighed. "Are we still on that Sally?" Abby complained.

Sally was a cheerleader. The **head** cheerleader. She was surrounded by her whole troop of varsity cheerleaders, all of them glaring at Abigail.

"You screwed up my plan for Winter Formal last year!" Sally cried indignantly, stomping her foot. Then she crossed her arms. "You'd think with a sister like Cree you'd be more coordinated. Tripping over a kid like that? Pa-the-_tic_."

Abby tensed up. "It was almost a year ago Sally. Let it go. You're little plans need me. I'm the best fighter this school's got!" Abby argued.

Sally sneered at Abby. The girls surrounding her snickered. Abby didn't like it... "You're not the best Abigail." Sally casually checked her nails. "Ever since those KN_Dorks_ decommissioned Cree and Daniel took over, we've been letting in some new fighters." She glared back at Abby. "So I'd take my eyes off of the leader's spot if I were you. Too bad you let those little brats decommission you. Maybe _then_ you'd be as good as your sister… not that that's any good either. A girl is only as strong as the boys she steps on. Too-duh-loo Crabigail." She wiggled her fingers cutely and walked away. Her wolf pack followed.

Abby watched them go, her eyes narrowed. Her grip on her backpack strap tightened and her jaw tensed before she walked away towards the History building.

Once inside, she slammed a fist against a locker, frustrated. How dare she… how _dare she_ talk about Cree like that… Cree had been caught by the Kids Next Door and decommissioned right before her high school graduation as an emergency operation… and she had lost everything. She lost her memories and her fighting skill. She remembered nothing about the Kids Next Door… but Abigail had regained her loving sister. Even if she couldn't remember _all_ of the good times that they had had…

She had to admit, now that she was no longer fighting the KND with the teens and adults, she admired her sister. And Sally had no right to speak ill of her…


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **So congradulations to those of you who got the spoiler in the previous chapter, and thank you for not killing it for everyone else so they'll be shocked later on (yes I'm already making plans XD). But so no one says the shock came out of left field, Abby was 10 in the KND series while Cree was 16.

This chapter I'm introducing a new OC named Lucas. I'm not expecting the best reaction from him... but that's sort of the point. And before I tell this story **here's a nice psychology lesson. **When someone feels like they like someone, even a little while after they leave that person, they want to be nicer so that the other person thinks "hey, he's a nice guy. He would be a good person to be with." So that's KINDA what's going on here. Although there's also a *ahem* guy impressing his friends thing going on so... yeah that's going to get some people mad. XP I hope you enjoy the chapter everybody. ^_^

* * *

Chapter 8

"Are you gonna keep me waiting all day Beatles?"

Wally looked up from his Algebra homework and saw Lucas leaning on door at the library entrance. Lucas, like Wally, was tall and lean. He had less muscle, but unlike Wally he had a nasty look on his face all the time. He's a redhead with curly hair peaking out of a black cap. He was wearing a white shirt, a denim vest, and jeans ripped at the knees, a black Jansport hanging off of one shoulder. It was basically empty save for a couple of scattered papers, a binder, and a magazine.

"I'm coming I'm coming," he mumbled. He didn't miss the cruel chuckle that came out of Lucas's throat. He shoved his binder and pencil in his backpack and walked out, only giving Kuki a side glance as he passed by her. He had expected an indignant glare of pure disappointment that he always received around Lucas, but she just had a clueless Bambi stare.

"Oh bye, Wally," she said softly once he was out the door. He grimaced a bit, but kept walking.

"New girl ay Beatles?" Wally nodded. "She's kinda cute. Lucky guy. Too bad she's probably gonna hate you by the end of the month." Lucas chuckled meanly. Wally shrugged. Lucas placed both hands on the back of his head and began to swagger, but noticed the slight sour look on Wally's face so he wrapped one arm playfully over his shoulder. "Ehh don't worry about it man. Girls'll come and go but mates are forever right?"

Wally smiled playfully and threw a few playful punches to his friend's gut to get him off. Lucas backed off immediately. "Yeah. Mates forever." Lucas relaxed, happy to see his friend smiling again. "N she's pretty cute though. A bit rough though."

Lucas snickered. "Yeah. She seemed _adorable _when I saw her draggin you across the school."

Wally's mouth went agape. "You saw that?!" Lucas just smiled cruelly. Wally covered his face in frustration. "Ugh! That was humiliatin'! Having that little shiela draggin me around like that! Ugh I can't believe someone saw that!" Wally smacked his forehead. "I can't believe I let her put me through that."

Lucas shrugged carelessly. "You know girls. They have their own feminine wiles. Like their own little spells over men's conscious minds." Lucas grabbed his vest and put it up over his head like a hood. "Wooooo! Yee better watch out for them wiles youngin. They'd have thee eatin right out of their silky, evil hands!"

Wally laughed and shoved his friend away. "Aw get off mate!" They both chuckled and kept walking in silence for a little while. "She's cute though ain't she?" he probed.

Lucas shrugged. "Neh. Not much in the chest area, but alright for a Jap."

Wally smacked his chest with a scowl. "Ay! Watch it with the comments."

Lucas smirked. "Whatever yuh Aussie," Lucas teased, imitating Wally's Australian accent. Wally frowned. Lucas looked away and shoved his hands inside his pockets, resign. "Anyway, she's kinda cute but not all that great. I wouldn't bother with 'er. She seems a bit… I don't know… high maintenance. Like the girls who are all cutesy in the beginning, but then turn into total bitches and steal everything they can from you."

Wally gave his friend a knowing look, and Lucas's dark expression relaxed. Wally shrugged. "Eh. She doesn't seem like that type. I… I think we used to hang around in middle school didn't we?"

Lucas thought about it. "Yeah… yeah I think so. She used to be that rainbow monkey freak right?"

Wally suddenly felt furious at Lucas. It was only for a moment, but he wanted to shove him to the ground and bury him there. "Yeah… I think that was her. I mean…" Wally scratched his head, wondering why Kuki's giggle started echoing around his mind.

But Lucas broke his train of thought by smacking his chest, stopping him cold. "Hey man look! Third graders!" Lucas whispered, pulling Wally down into the bushes. He sent a menacing grin in Wally's direction. "Think any of them have any lunch money left?"

"C'mon mate. Do we have to do this now? I'm not in the mood," Wally argued, a bit uncomfortable. And it was the truth. He and Lucas tormented the kids on a regular basis just for kicks, but he didn't feel like messing with them today. Plus he still had a kid brother at home…

But Lucas had already stood up. "Well, well, well. Look what we've got here, Buddy. A couple of what? First graders?" Lucas taunted. Wally grudgingly got to his feet and backed up his friend. The kids all huddled together, like they always did. They huddled behind the tallest one, but even he barely passed Wally's hip.

"Yee-yup. Looks like it mate," Wally agreed, allowing his disinterest saturate his tone. Lucas gave him a dirty look.

"You kids know what we do to first graders around here don'cha? Guess they didn't get the memo Buddy."

"We're third graders!" one argued.

"What memo?" the tallest one argued indignantly.

"What's a memo Timmy?" a small girl asked. She was a small blond with two fluffy pigtails.

"It's some newsletter thing. But there _was_ no memo about some _teenagers_ who were allowed to pick on kids! My dad said to just call out a store manager if any of you guys bothered us so back off!"

Lucas and Wally smirked at each other. Lucas suddenly faked fear to mess with the kid. "Oooo the store managers! I'm sooo scared!" The kid glared up at Lucas, increasing Lucas's entertainment. "Wally looks like we got a little fighter over here." Wally just chuckled. "You wanna know what we do to tough guys around here?" Lucas put his foot on the kid's chest and pushed him to the ground, leaving a shoe mark on the kid's chest.

"Timmy!" the blond cried as the other kids crowded around their fallen leader. "You dumb jerks! I hope the Kids Next Door kick your butts!" the girl shouted, her hands tightly curled up into fists.

Lucas laughed at the girl. "The Kids Next Door? I'm so scared!"

The girl began to bristle. "Just leave us alone you dumb jerk!"

"Or what? You gonna hit me?" Lucas taunted. The girl turned bright red, but Lucas just leaned down, challenging her.

"Leave her alone!" Timmy yelled and tried to tackle down Lucas, but Lucas caught his head and shoved Timmy into a nearby fence, the scene suddenly a bit much for even Wally's taste for violence. Picking on middle schoolers and bullies were one thing… but these kids were barely older than Joey… and the kid –like Wally and Joey –was a fighter…

Lucas's grin turned feral as he walked towards the kid who was sitting against the fence, but Wally caught his shoulder.

"That's enough _mate_," he hissed. Lucas smirked carelessly and Wally turned to the rest of the kids. "SCRAM!" he yelled at them. All the kids squealed and booked it. Only one of them stayed behind for their fallen leader.

"C'mon Timmy!" the blond girl called. Wally turned to Timmy who was glaring at Lucas furiously, while Lucas kept a smug look on his face, then got up and ran after his friends.

Lucas kept his laughter inside for about two more seconds before he started to crack up like a hyena. "Did you see their faces?! Ha! And that one kid! Timmy? What a RIOT! Kids are getting a bit cocky don't you think?"

"Yee-ah," Wally said simply, walking past his laughing friend. He looked to his side and saw a pair of sunglasses turn away from him to a girl in a blue tiger shirt. Suddenly, he couldn't think of a single reason why his friend was laughing so hard…

* * *

**A/N**: So yeah you can definitely see the differences between Wally and Lucas. While Lucas is... innately mean, Wally is just a tough guy with a good heart once you know him, but sadly with a jerk friend.  
and yes I know all teens are supposed to be AGAINST the KND, but c'mon. Wally was always a good guy so I don't think he'd really care about the KND until they actually started to mess with his plans or actions. Or if Lucas pulled him into it.

So in the next chapter you'll be seeing Nigel, Hank, Rachel, James McGarfield, and Lizzie Devine in the ice cream parlor. It was ACTUALLY supposed to part of this chapter, but I was getting concerned that you guys would get put off with long chapters. =P


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Ok, so we only have 1 more chapter of character set up after this chapter. Except for Daniel. He'll come in eventually. I just needed to bring in the major characters. So, due to the constant jumping around this story is probably going to do, at the beginning of each chapter I'm gonna put a date and if the KND are in their classes for that chapter, I'll put their scedules up too. Although that also means that my updates are going to be more spread out.

Oh, and pertaining to the whole Nigel/Wally feud going on, I'll explain that in a manner that I see fit... but that will be a while. x)

So, this chapter we see Nigel and Rachel (#362) interacting. As well as Lizzie. Lizzie always seemed like a jerk to me so I continued that trend, especially after she sees that Nigel does just fine without her.

* * *

Chapter 9

"Oh I GET IT NOW!" Rachel shouted in triumph.

"Not so hard is it?" Nigel teased light-heartedly, and then continued to dip his French fries in his vanilla milkshake.

Rachel blushed and laughed. "Yeah… I guess not. But Mr. Smith just made it seem so _complicated_," Rachel whined while she stirred her chocolate milkshake with a straw, but then smiled. "_But_ I have you to back me up."

Nigel grinned. "Always." He offered a fist and Rachel bumped it against her own. It made him happy, seeing her so accomplished. He felt accomplished himself. "So… uh…" he scratched the back of his bald head, "do you wanna uh…"

Rachel giggled. "Sure Nigel. We can hang out around here. And why rush? I've got this lesson covered so it'll only take me an hour or two. So…" They both looked away awkwardly, until Rachel started to laugh.

"What?"

"I'm sorry… It's just funny. We've known each other forever and yet we still get quiet."

Nigel blushed. "Well I… uh… Heh. Sorry I probably sound like a bit of a dork right now huh?"

Rachel smiled reassuringly and placed one hand over his. "No no! Not at all! I think it's kinda cute…"

Nigel's blush deepened despite his fruitless attempts to stop it. He saw the way Rachel's eyes narrowed slightly, how her smile changed… and her palms were so warm… she was flirting right? This was flirting right? This wasn't just a friendly thing right? Well of course it was friendly but was it like… a flirty friendly thing or a friend friendly thing?

Crap… crap her smile was widening. Was that good or bad? Was she laughing at him? Did she really think he was being cute or was she just leading him on? Maybe she was just teasing him. No… no this is _Rachel_ sweet, kind, smart, determined Rachel. She wouldn't tease him right? If she _did_ **like **like him they were honest to God feelings right? _Right? _Oh God her smile is fading away…

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Hank greeted, scooting in next to Rachel. Nigel's wingman had saved him again.

Rachel immediately took her hand back. The only consequence. "No, not at all."

Hank smiled at her. "Hey Rach. So how's Calc homework going?" Hank asked, pulling away Nigel's book to look over his homework and the lesson.

"It's going great. Nigel just helped me understand Smith's lesson today."

"Yeah… Smith can be tough. He can make things seem more complicated than they really are."

Rachel hit her palm against the table excitedly. "I know right! It's ridiculous!"

"Maybe Nigel should be the teacher," Hank offered, pushing the attention back on Nigel.

"Tt. Me a teacher?" Nigel joked.

Rachel's smile widened. "Totally! That'd be great! I mean, you can take Smith's hour lessons and turn them into five minutes."

"No, no, no, no. I couldn't be a teacher-" Nigel began arguing.

"You're right. Your bald head would keep the kids distracted all day," Hank teased strategically.

Rachel laughed but argued all the same. "No way! I mean… I don't have a problem with it," Rachel said blushing. Nigel was about to comment, but Hank kicked him underneath the table to force him to think about his comment.

"I don't know Rachel… I think it adds a few years to my face," Nigel added jokingly.

"Oh don't be so self-critical!" Rachel retorted playfully, leaning over the table to shove Nigel over the shoulder. Like Hank taught him, Nigel gave her a charming smile and laugh. She blushed and just drank from her milkshake. Hank grinned and winked at Nigel. Nigel nodded appreciatively.

"Oh hey, where's Abby?" Nigel asked, suddenly remembering Abigail had refused Rachel's invitation because she was hanging out with Hank.

"Oh yeah! She said she was hanging out with you," Rachel added.

Hank frowned, leading Nigel to believe Abby may have lied. "No… she had tutoring to do today… huh…" Hank sat back in his booth and tapped his finger against the table.

"Oh…" Rachel said, trying to prevent an awkward silence.

"Well, I'm sure it was nothing. Maybe she just said something," Nigel offered, remembering Abby had tried to leave Nigel and Rachel alone.

Hank looked at Nigel and then laughed at himself. "Yeah… she probably just said something," he said with an admiring smile on his lips. Nigel grinned into his milkshake as well while Rachel looked at them both, a bit confused. Then her eyes caught something at the entrance, which caused Hank to look up. "Uh-oh. Psycho First Lady at your six o'clock Uno," Hank rasped while he and Rachel tried to avoid attracting any attention.

Nigel slouched down in his chair, trying to remain unnoticed. "Well hello Mister Uno!" a familiar and annoying voice called. Nigel groaned. James Nixon McGarfield had never been one to leave his other officers unnoticed. "How's my favorite Vice President?" James walked over to their table, his girlfriend on his arm.

Of _course_ he would remind him he was the _vice_ president… "Just swell Mr. McGarfield. Just having a milkshake with a couple of my friends." Nigel waved a hand towards Rachel and Hank who waved and smiled tightly. "Lizzie."

"Hello _Nigel_," Lizzie greeted haughtily. Lizzie now wore her hair up in a formal bun and tried to keep up with the fashion to keep up appearances with her presidential boyfriend. The amount of make-up she wore had increased over the years, but her weight had not decreased one bit. "How do you like Jimmy's new hat? It really flatters his facial features doesn't it?" Lizzie cooed in her usual voice.

Nigel grimaced for a moment. People told him very often that he and Lizzie had been together for a long time while they went to elementary school, but Nigel could never see it. All Lizzie Devine ever did was gush over herself, James, and then order everyone else around. Even worse, she always seemed to have an attitude towards Nigel. No matter what Nigel was doing, no matter how good of a job he was doing, she was in his ear complaining about how her precious _Jimmy_ would do a better job. It made Nigel wonder about the validity of the rumor that Lizzie had broken up with _him_.

"Now, now Elizabeth, not in public my sweet," James corrected sweetly. Nigel fought the urge to gag. "Honestly Nigel, I have no i_dea_ how you let a filly like this go."

"Oh Jimmy STOP IT!" she shouted. Nigel fought to keep his professional smile in place. He never thought he lost much if she _had_ broken up with _him_ but it seemed like she was always looking for a way to imply that he had lost something. She even had James in on her little game. "He's so sweet isn't he Nigee…el."

Nigel felt his phone vibrate and looked down at it quickly. It was from Hank… when had he looked down at his phone? _Did he really just compare her to a horse? XD_ It almost made Nigel smile.

"Well you know what they say Lizzie, out with the old, in with the new," Rachel retorted. A few snickers were heard around the room.

"Humph!" Lizzie shot up her nose indignantly. Rachel was also on her list of least favorite people, probably because Rachel had no fear of talking back. "Let's go Jimmy! I want a chocolate ice cream cone!"

"Anything you want dear. I'll see you at the Junior council meeting Nigel." Jimmy tipped his hat and walked away with Lizzie pulling him.

"Of course James. See you then…" Nigel let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Rachel. "Thanks Rachel. I owe you one."

Rachel smiled. "Anytime… I guess we're even then huh?"

Nigel reached over and laid his hand over hers. "Almost…"

* * *

**A/N:** I always loved Nigel's bashful personality when it came to one-on-one interactions, so I decided to keep that. x) I hope all of you liked this little peak into what's to come with the whole 1x362 situation.

The next chapter is going to focus on all of the team member's younger siblings (so Joey, Tommy, and Mushi are going to be included). I MIGHT have 363 if I can figure out his personality from his 2 minutes of screen time.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **my computer got a virus so I'm doing all of this from an iPod which I must say is a major pain in the butt. XP So the chapters are going to take longer to upload. And forgive me for any typos I'll fix those once I have a computer again.

Anway, so as I said this chapter includes Joey at age 7 and Mushi at age 13. So Mushi is going to be another dislikeable character. She'll have her moments but overall... yeah. Joey is going to be lovable throughout the story though. He's going to be another main character but I won't be saying much about his life in the KND though. I put Tommy and Hank in the next chapter since I thought it would fit better.

* * *

Chapter 10

"Hey Mom I'm home!" Wally called in, dropping his backpack at the door, not to be touched until tomorrow morning.

"Welcome home Wallaby!" his mother called back. She was in the kitchen making dinner already. Wally smelled ribs and his mouth watered, the smell called him to the kitchen. "Smellin the Ribs already are yuh?" his mom teased, wiping her hands off on her apron. Wally was so encapsulated by the smell of ribs that he didn't notice his mother walking towards him.

"Hey!" Wally cried out indignantly when his mother planted a kiss on his cheek. "C'mon mom!" he whined indignantly as he wiped his cheek. "I'm not a kid anymore! Go kiss Joey er somethin!"

"Aw pshaw. You'll always be my little Wallaby and I'll always be your mama. No matter how big yuh get. Now, c'mere and give yer mama a kiss," she said sweetly, pointing at her cheek.

"No way!" Wally walked past her and started stomping up the stairs, but caught his mother's disappointed expression, so he stopped. "Ey, speaking of Joey... is he...?" Wally pointed upstairs, already knowing the answer.

His mother smiled deviously. "I'll tell yuh for a kiss."

Wally smiled incredulously on the inside, but covered it up by grudgingly stomping back down the stairs while grumbling nothing under his breath. He kissed his mother's cheek and then wiped his lips."There! Happy?!"

His mother shook her head at him with a small smile. "E's waitin for yuh in yur room."

Wally smirked and nodded, then headed upstairs to his room again. Wally's room was a mess to say the least. The walls were covered in posters of wrestlers and rock stars. The floor was covered by cups and plates, take-out boxes, magazines, papers, dirty clothes, and coins. And then there was the closet... but let's stay out of there.

There IS someone in there though... and Wally knew it. He dropped his change on his dresser, then threw his wallet on his nightstand and then sat on his bed to take off his shoes.

"Aaaaaahh!" someone yelled from his closet.

A wild animal suddenly popped out of the closet and tackled Wally down onto the bed and began punching him in the stomach. Wally grabbed the animal by the waist and shoved him off of him and onto the bed, then pinned it down as quickly as he could. The animal started trying to kick him in the stomach, but Wally placed one leg over its legs to keep it still. But the animal kept squirming.

"Knock it off yuh little ankle bitter yer already caught."

"I can... get... out!" Joey argued, his voice full of effort.

"Yuh know I'm gonna holdjuh here til yuh give." Joey squirmed for a few more seconds before he relaxed, glaring at the wall. "Yuh give?"

"Yeah I give!" Joey shouted. Wally smirked and got off of his little brother. "Yuh can't let me win ONCE?!" Joey whined

Wally stretched out on his bed. "I'll let you beat me when you deserve it yuh little tike." Joey frowned, and sat next to his brother obviously upset he had lost their daily scuffle. Wally opened one eye and smiled, "Ehh... you'll beat me one day yuh little monkey." He reached over and ruffled Joey's blind hair.

Joey pouted as he did so, but laughed as he fixed his hair. "Yeah right. You're the best!"

Wally smirked, eyes closed. "Tt. Yuh got that right." Wally crossed his arms and put them behind his head. "So, how was school Joey?"

"Great!" Joey exclaimed, standing up on the bed. "Some of the older kids started telling us about the Kids Next Door!" he chattered excitedly jumping on Wally's bed.

Wally chuckled. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! They told us all about the gadgets and, and Sector Z and, and the tree houses and and the moon base! And they told us all about the scary teens and adults!"

"Ey! Who you callin' a scary teen?" Wally teased.

"Not you bro! The mean ones!" Joey corrected.

"**_Boys_**! Oo's jumpin' on the bed?!" their mother shouted from the kitchen.

Joey immediately sat down on his knees while Wally gave him a sly look. "Sorry mom!" Wally called down.

Joey smiled but kept bouncing on the bed. "Everyone kept talking about the, the moonbase and, and the tree houses but my favorite was Sector V! The greatest team in KND **history!**"

Something about Joey's excitement made Wally smile. "Oh really?"

"Yeah! Like they had Number One who was the best leader _EVER_! And then there's number five who was SUPER COOL! But my favorite was Number Four! He-he was the fighting specialist of the team and the toughest kid **EVER!** I wanna be just like 'im!" Joey sent a few amateur air punches.

In the mean time, a warm shiver radiated from Wally's chest. He couldn't place it, but he felt proud of himself… or was it his little brother? Eh. It was probably because his little brother wanted to be a fighter, just like his big brother. Wally laughed. "I bet e's not tougher than me."

"Bet he is!" Joey taunted, his eyes sparkling.

Wally stood up and went into an intimidating fighting stance. "Oh yeah? Bring 'im here!" Wally started to throw faster, harder punches over Joey's head. "I'll kick 'is butt!"

Joey laughed at his big brother's antics, his smile beaming. "Yeah… I can't though."

Wally looked down at his brother's disappointed expression. "Why not?"

"He's not part of the Kid's Next Door no more…"

"Oh…" Wally looked down at his dispirited little brother and frowned, but then smiled confidently. "Well, I guess that makes me the toughest by default then huh?"

"Not yet!" Joey ran at his big brother and jumped off the bed to tackle him.

Wally smiled, caught his little brother under the arms and threw him back on the bed and laughed at his stunned expression. "Gotta be faster than that _tough guy_."

Joey glowering at him from his laying down position on the bed, but Wally just smirked. Joey humphed and sat himself up in a tense Indian style. "The Kids Next Door'll never choose me…"

Wally rolled his eyes and kneeled down at the edge of the bed in front of his little brother. "N why's that?"

"Cause I can't even tackle a teenager! I'm no good…"

Wally smiled reassuringly and pushed his little brother's head. "C'mon you're not _that_ bad." His brother still glared at the bed with tears in his eyes. "Alright then, stand up. C'mon," Wally commanded, pulling a confused Joey to his feet. "I'm gonna show yuh how to punch properly. Here, make sure your stance is solid. Yeah, like that. Now, when you punch, put all your weight into the punch. No, no like this. Yeah… close, close! Try movin more like this. No not- yeah! Yeah that's it! Do that again."

"Like this?"

"Yeah! Yeah you've got it. Now do it fast… there see. Those little ankle biters won't be able to turn down a fighting tike like you," Wally reassured, ruffling Joey's hair. Joey smiled proudly under his brother's hand and ruffled hair. "You'll be as good as that Numbuh Four kid in no time." Wally gave him a small approving smile, and Joey beamed. Wally's smile widened a little from how happy his little brother was, but then Wally looked to the side and noticed the clock said 4:43. "Now get outta here. You got homework to do and dad's gonna be home soon," Wally commanded lightly, pushing Joey towards the door.

Joey pouted while his brother pushed him out the door, but then stopped right before he went through the door. "Hey Bro?" Wally stopped pushing him. "If I joined the Kids Next Door... would I have to fight you?"

Wally thought about this for a moment... but then decided not to. "Probably. And I'd beat you too," he said sarcastically and shoved Joey out the door.

Wally kept his hand on the door for a little while, then went back to his bed. He sighed, a little tense. He knew that despite Joey's concerns the KND would snatch him up easy. He was a talented kid.

He sighed again and reached for his phone... suddenly furious that it wasn't in his pocket.

Kuki looked at Wally's phone, uneasy. She knew he'd be furious once he noticed it was gone. He had just left so suddenly she completely forgot to give it back to him. She had thought of chasing him down but then the thought of Lucas's eyes on her sent a nervous shiver down her back.

But then her restlessness was interrupted by the sound of teens cheering. She sighed, knowing exactly what it was.

Mushi's tv.

Kuki looked at the clock. 5:02

"Hey Mushi?" she called in softly.

Kuki sighed and closed her AP bio book. She trudged over to Mushi's room and knocked tentatively, not wanting to make her sister mad.

"What?" Mushi snapped back through the closed door. Kuki took that as permission to open the door.

"You know, Mom is going to be home soon. She won't be happy if you're watching tv instead of doing your homework."

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Mushi snapped, keeping her focus on the tv.

Kuki frowned. Mushi and her mother haven't been getting along due to Mushi's work habits and grades. Kuki hated seeing the two of them fight. She hated seeing her baby sister in trouble.

"But Muushiiiiiiii..." Kuki whined. "You're going to get in trouble. Mom is going to be cranky from work and-"

"SHE won't be happy to see you not doing your homework," Kuki's mom finished from behind her.

Mushi jumped and turned off the tv, as if her mother hadn't already seen her watching it. Her eyes were wide with the initial shock of being caught. But then she met her mother's cross stare with a defiant glare, and then sent a blaming glare to Kuki like it was her fault she was in trouble.

Kuki rubbed her arm, blaming herself for the fight that was going to occur.

Her mother turned to Kuki, her eyes lingering on Mushi. "Kuki, there's a boy at the for you. I think he's an old friend of yours."

Kuki blushed and rushed down the stairs, leaving her mother and sister to their bickering. It had to be Wally coming for his phone. she got to the door and stopped herself before she tore it open. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax. She didn't have to be nervous. This was a guy she was tutoring who was probably very mad at her. Not a big deal... there was no reason to get this worked up.

She opened the door and found Wally carelessly leaning on the wall, hands buried in his sweatshirt's pockets, looking out at the street. He turned his head and narrowed his eyes. "Ah believe you've got somethin of mine."

Kuki blushed and rubbed her arm guiltily. "Heheh yeah... sorry about that. Your phone's in my room. Come in." But then she heard her sister yelling at her mother. She winced and turned back to Wally. "Maybe you should-"

Wally pushed past her and stomped up the stairs.

"Hey!" Kuki yelled and chased after him. He glanced around and walked right into Kuki's room. She looked after him, astounded by his nerve and by the fact he had found her room so easily. She marched to her room, ignoring her sister's tellin next door. "It'd be nice for you to ASK don't you think?"

He was anxiously looking around her room, for his phone most likely. "You stole my phone. I'm not in the mood for nicities... he took a moment to actually look around him. "Nice room."

Kuki's cheeks became hot. Her room had updated very little since she was a kid. Her walls were still a light pink, her bed was larger, but it was still white with little designs on the headboard. Her bed had a light green sheet on it, a white pillow, 3 old Rainbow Monkeys around her pillow, and random stuffed animals at the foot of her bed. At the foot of her bed there was a light colored wood chest -God forbid he go through that... - with little pieces of her childhood stashed away. Near by the door was her desk.

"Thanks..." she said lamely.

Wallaby turned towards her and shrugged. "Eh. At least it's clean. And it seems tuh suit yuh... THERE you are you little bugguh!" he cried victoriously once he saw his phone on her desk behind Kuki's bio book. He opened it up to check what he had missed, and closed it. "Well, I guess I got what I came here for. I'm off," he said nonchalantly.

Kuki moved out of his way. "Bye Wally," Kuki said a bit quietly, wondering if he'd just ignore her again.

"See yuh later Kuki," he replied, not turning back to face her. Kuki couldn't deny the slight satisfaction she got from himsaying goodbye.

"Wallaby Beatles," Kuki's mother called from behind Kuki. Her tone made Wally stop and turn. "I thought that was you. I haven't seen you in this house in ages."

"Yeah... I don't even remember the place. Anyway Mrs. Sanban, I just came for my stolen phone," Walky informed, holding up his phone. Kuki frowned at the word STOLEN. It was a simple mistake. "So Ima get goin. Thanks for havin me."

"I must insist that you stay for dinner. We'd feel insulted if you didn't."

Kuki laughed inwardly at Wally's unwilling expression. "My mom's makin dinner at home-"

"Great. I haven't seen Mrs. Beatles in ages. I'll call her and invite them over."

Kuki tried not to laugh as Wally obviously steamed.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**: FINALLY! AN UPDATE! Alright, I'm sorry I haven't uploaded anything in what, a month? but I'll try to be better about it now. Just this chapter was difficult because of the dinner scene with like 8 different characters and I wasn't completely sure how it was going to go.

So, in this chapter you see Tommy and Hank's relationship. It's a bit tense, but that's because of their age difference. Tommy obviously still cares for his brother, but Hank still seems to be a bit of a jerk to Tommy. We'll be seeing the mushier part of that relationship in the distant future. We also see Hank and Abby's relationship a bit more.

We also see the dinner scene which is Kuki, Wally, their parents, and their siblings. It was actually kind of difficult to do, but hopefully it came out **OK**. But, just to make sure that you guys don't misinterpret this, this chapter DOES NOT CREATE THEIR ROMANTIC FEELINGS. It's more for Wally and Kuki to create a mutual respect and affection towards each other. Kuki's a very open person, so it doesn't take much for her to like Wally, but I made sure that you guys understood that Wally wasn't going to be _as_ accepting.

* * *

Chapter 11

"Hey Hoagie?" an annoyingly high pitched voice asked from Hank's doorway. But Hank was too busy to with a blue print on his computer screen to turn around to face the chubby 12 year-old with a textbook in his hands

"Go away," Hank snapped back. "And it's _Hank_. Ya got that?"

Ignoring his brother's demands, Tommy walked into his brother's room and sat on his bed. "I'm having trouble with geometry homework. Can you help me out?"

Hank rolled his eyes, knowing better. "Ugh. Go ask grandma or something. I'm busy." Hank continued to click away at the screen, scrutinizing his design.

"Grandma can't help me with geometry!-"

Hank missed the rest of Tommy's argument because he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw it was Abby. "Hellooo… if this is **not** the most beautiful girl in the world, I'm not interested."

"Heehee," Hank could easily imagine her cover her mouth and close her eyes at his lame joke –"I don't' know, am I?"

"Oh… I _definitely_ have time for you."

"Cool. You home?"

"I am. Gonna stop by?" Hank asked, unconsciously swiveling happily in his chair at the prospect of seeing Abby.

Abby chuckled, making Hank smile a little wider… as dorky as that made him seem. "Yeah. I'll be over in a couple uh minutes."

"Is that Abby?! Hi Abby!" Tommy yelled obnoxiously over Hank's shoulder and into his ear. "Hey, whatchuh workin' on?" Tommy asked, noticing Hank's design. Hank panicked a little and had to remind himself his brother was only 12.

"Tommy!" Hank snapped, pushing his younger brother back. He could hear Abby trying not to laugh. "Tommy says hi…"

"Yeah, I heard." He could hear the good-hearted smile in her tone, but he still leaned forward and rested his elbow on his computer desk while rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, embarrassed.

"Yeah… just… come up when you get here," he replied, a bit deflated.

"Heheh. Alright. And hey, I love you."

Hank smiled. "Love you too." He hung up the phone, minimized the screen, and turned to his brother, ready to give him an earful.

"Are you working on a robot?" Tommy asked without missing a beat.

Hank frowned. "It's just some model design for mechanics –"

"No it's not. You're making it so it can handle a lot of weight. It's supposed to be huge," Tommy countered.

"Oh… what do you know? You're just a kid," Hank retorted defensively, turning back to his computer.

Tommy's hands became fists and he glared at his brother. "_You _knew a lot when _you_ were twelve! Why can't I?" Tommy shouted.

Hank's typing paused and then he turned to face Tommy. "I _thought_ I knew a lot. I was just a kid who didn't know _anything_. You know what I thought back then? That I could fly using rackets as wings! Rackets! Do you know how _stupid_ that is? So **grow up!** That's the only way you're going to learn anything!"

Hank actually looked at his little brother. Under his black cap – which Hank had forced on him to get rid of that god awful hybrid between a cowboy hat and a fedora – Tommy was bright red with tears in his eyes, biting his lower lip. Finally, after a few tense second Tommy shouted, "I DON'T WANNA GROW UP IF I'M GONNA BE A DOODY-HEAD LIKE YOU!" then he ran out in a fury.

That was the first thing Abby heard when she walked in the door. Then she saw and heard Tommy dash into his room and slam the door.

"Stop that racket! I'm trying to watch this Lucy show!" their grandmother shouted from the living room. Abby did her best to steer clear of her.

She walked down the hall to Hank's room and lightly knocked on his door. Hank turned around with a bit of a frown, but that quickly turned into a grin when he saw her. "Hello Beautiful."

Abby smiled back and walked over to him, pushed his chair back and kissed him. "Hey babeh," she looked back to the door, then back to Hank. "What's wrong with Tommy?"

Hank shrugged and Abby sat on his bed. "He just decided to throw a tantrum."

Abby held up the middle school geometry book. "Did 'e need help with somethin'?"

Hank rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defensively. "He's _my_ little brother. Do you really think he _actually_ needed help with geometry? That brat just wants attention," Hank said dismissively before turning in his chair.

Abby sighed and put the book down. She knew Hank, probably better than anyone. He was a smart guy, which stifled his emotional understandings at times. But Abby knew he wasn't really a jerk. Just blunt and impatient with his little brother, just like any other sibling.

Abby stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. "Now c'mon babeh. He is just a kid."

"A bratty one…" Hank mumbled, but Abby could already feel his defenses going down.

She chuckled. "He just wants to spend some time with 'is older brother. He looks up to you yuh know."

Hank turned his chair around and Abby automatically slipped into his lap, resting her forehead against his while he held her close. "You weren't this bad with Cree, were you?" Hank asked playfully.

Abby smiled and chuckled. "I probably was." Abby kissed him quickly. "We all drive each other a little nuts."

Hank closed his eyes and grinned. "I know how nuts _you_ drive me," Hank started to pepper kisses along Abby's neck making Abby laugh.

"A'right, A'right Casa Nova." Abby began to move away from Hank despite his playful attempts to keep her close to him. She got off his lap and went to pick up Tommy's book. "I'ma go give this back to him."

Hank smiled appreciatively at her, and she smiled back. He looked at her for a little while, thinking about how lucky he was. Just a couple of minutes ago he was furious and annoyed. Suddenly he was in an amazing mood… along with something else but let's not get into that. Abby was just… great for him. She had an amazing way with words that she used to dip her hands deep into his brain and lighten things up.

He knew he was smiling at empty space like an idiot, but with her it seemed perfectly natural and normal. He's had… four or five other girlfriends since he was thirteen, but none of them had seemed right for him. He could easily turn away from them. He could walk away from them with no problem. He could ignore every single word they said and they would never even notice. He could forget an insignificant detail and he wouldn't be slapped or ignored. Abby was—

Hank's thoughts were interrupted by his vibrating phone. A text from Wally.

_SOS!_

_What's wrong? 0_o_

_Kukis hous family diner HELP_

To Wally's despair, all he got back was _LOL!_

He pushed his phone in his pocket and grimaced at the scene around him. He was sitting at a dinner table with his family – which in itself made him uneasy – as well as Kuki's –which completely _unnerved _him.

The Sanbans seemed… _OK._ Kuki looked just as uneasy as Wally –especially since her seat was right in front of his which made things almost unbearably awkward – but her family seemed perfectly at ease, even though Kuki's little sister Mushi wasn't exactly happy.

Kuki's mom and his mom were in the kitchen cooking and discussing something Wally didn't bother listening to. Kuki seemed to be listening to it though, probably finding preferable than listening to her father's discussion about some fish from Asia with Wally's dad – who seemed a little too interested in the topic.

Wally had been trying to get _someone_ to come save him with some sort of excuse, but they either didn't answer or they had laughed at him. He hadn't asked Lucas though… he definitely would have helped, but in a way as to entertain himself. And he didn't know how the Sanbans would take his antics.

"Meat's off the barbie!" his mother said excitedly from the kitchen, holding up her Godly ribs. All the Beatles stared at the large plate of ribs, suddenly ravenous. Wally readied his fork to grab at his mother's ribs. He eyed a few pieces in particular, hoping his mom put the plate closer to him than his dad so he could get first pick, because he knew his dad. He knew he was going to be eyeing the same exact pieces. His dad was a pretty passive guy, but when it came to food, as Wally got older, they both became more competitive on who got the better cuts. Wally had his plan set out he would–

Wait a cruddy second. What was his mom _doing_? She was _serving_ Joey! Joey got one of the pieces Wally had been eyeing and he got the _biggest_ smile on his face and was practically bouncing in his seat. Wally's face fell and his grip on his fork lessened out of shock. He looked at his dad in confusion. His father was just as disappointed, but was much for composed about it. His mom was going around the table in order. Wally was next, but it was still an irritating idea that he didn't get first pick. At least his mom would give him his –

"_Mooom_," Wally whined quietly, urging her to put more than just _two_ ribs.

"Hush Wallaby," his mother shushed under her breath as she served his father. Wally gruffed and placed his cheek on his fist, irritated. He looked up from the table and found Kuki looking at him a bit sympathetically. She shrugged with a small smile, and Wally rolled his eyes in response.

"The tonkatsu is ready," Kuki's mom said dully from the kitchen doorway. Wally watched as Kuki suddenly perked up as her mother walked towards the table.

Kuki's dad clapped excitedly. "Oh Honey. Your tonkatsu looks amazing!" he said with a heavy Asian accent.

"Thank you dear. I hope that our guests will enjoy it," she commented as she served her husband. The man –like Joey –was also bouncing around in his seat.

"Thanks mom," Kuki said as her mom placed two pieces of… Tone-ka-tu (?) on her plate.

"You're very welcome sweet heart. Mushi." Her mom just dropped two pieces of tone-ka-tu on her plate. Mushi just looked away from her which earned a glare from Mrs. Sanban.

"Um excuse me?" Joey started. Wally knew he was going to ask what the rest of the men in his family were wondering. "What _is_ that?"

"It's tonkatsu Joey," his mother said cheerfully. "It's a Japanese dish."

"Yeah, I got that. But what _is_ it?"

"It's fried pork dumb-butt!" Mushi retorted meanly.

"_Mushi!_" Kuki's mom snapped. Wally looked over at his brother and found him a bit hurt, then sent an angry look towards Mushi which inevitably slid to Kuki. Kuki was slouched in her chair, looking sheepish, embarrassed, and apologetic, which made Wally's irritation fade off. Although he didn't feel bad for Mushi when her mom started ordering her to apologize.

"Your sister's a bit of a handful huh?" Wally commented while his mother served her her a couple of ribs.

Kuki sighed and shrugged. "It's just… a kid thing I guess."

"I'm not a kid!" Mushi argued loudly. "And how come _she_ gets to bring a _boy_ over and I can't bring Sandy and his cousins!"

"I'm gonna go get the rice," Kuki said quickly, scooting out of her seat. "Mind helping me Wally?" Wally got out of his seat as quickly as possible, glad for an excuse to leave the awkward family fight that was sure to break out in a moment.

"Thanks for the save." Wally leaned on the counter and did his best to ignore the conflict happening in the next room.

"Don't mention it. I don't think I'd want to be in there either way. My mom and Kuki can be a little scary sometimes." Kuki visibly shivered.

"Puh. I can tell. I'm guessin you get your little…" Wally mimed flames come up around him, "from her."

Kuki giggled. "Maybe. It could be from either of them. Although my dad is just silly sometimes. He showed me some pictures of my mom from before I was born and it's really weird."

Wally chuckled, thinking about all the pictures he's seen of his mom in the outback. "You're tellin' me. Can you imagine my mom boxin' kangaroos?"

Kuki turned around from transferring the rice from the pan to a serving plate. "Really?! She looks like a normal housewife."

"Naaah she wuhn't always like that. Her and my da used to go and do a whole bunchuh stuff."

"Cool. Maybe they'll tell me a few stories when we go back inside."

"Tt. Maybe. Just… don't ask about the crocs in the river. I've had _more_ than enough of _that_ story."

"Alright. I'll make _sure_ to ask them," Kuki replied with a sly smile, clearly enjoying Wally's misery. "Grab the spoon there will you?" Kuki nodded towards a spoon at the edge of the counter. Wally picked it up for her and followed her back in the room where everything seemed to have calmed down.

"Finally! What took you so long!" Mr. Sanban complained. Wally couldn't help but smile at how Asian he was.

Kuki seemed to smile too. "Sorry dad." Wally placed the spoon aside the plate.

"Humph." He spooned some rice into his place. "As I was saying, Kuki is doing very well in school. She takes 6 AP classes this year. We expect many good things from her. She has grown up to be a fine young lady," Mr. Sanban continued. The topic made Wally feel uneasy.

"Well, she was always a smart sheila your Kuki. A sweet heart too," Wally's mom commented. "I remember when my lil Wallaby would get his little booboos she would patch him right up. But I would be the only one allowed to give him kisses."

"_Mooom_…" Wally grumbled, but he knew the smile his mom had on her lips. She was already deep in the past, remembering a time before her son was able to run away from her hugs and kisses.

"I r'member those days. Those two were two peas in a pod they were," Wally's dad piped up. "Those crazy kids would just stay with their groups for weeks on end. Heck. I don't remember a week where I didn't see those two together."

"Neither can I. I was surprised when Wally stopped walking Kuki to and from school," Kuki's mom mentioned. "I remembered in their sixth grade year Kuki would always wait outside for Wally so they could walk to school together."

"Wally always came late. I always end up driving them to school instead of them walking. That boy would always get here running," Mr. Sanban recollected. Wally couldn't decide if the man was accusing him, or if that was just how he worded things.

"Wally, what _have_ you been up to in school since then? If I remember correctly, you were beginning to fall behind. I understand Kuki is beginning to tutor you again." _Again?_

"You never told us about that Wallaby," his mother commented excitedly. "How exciting! You two kids spendin' time together again."

"Well–"

"I agree." Mrs. Sanban's eyes slid back to Wally. "So, what are you two studying for?"

"Um…" Wally scratched the back of his head nervously. "Math and English mostly… I mean, I kinda have trouble focusing –"

"Wally's the best boxer in the school. He just wants to make sure he keep his GPA up for later on," Kuki defended. "I've seen him box and I have to say, he has a lot of talent."

"Yeah! My big bro is the best boxer **ever!**" Joey piped up happily with scraps of ribs still in his mouth.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth Joey," Wally's mom reminded him automatically. "Yeah our Wallaby's turned out to be a right good fighter he has. He's turned into a big strong man. And 'is little brother Joey wants to be the same way."

"Yeah!" Joey agreed happily, more food in his mouth than before. Everyone except Mushi and Wally's mom smiled or chuckled.

"Joey…" Wally's mom warned.

Joey swallowed. "Sorry mom."

"You must be a popular guy than Wallaby," Mrs. Sanban complimented dully.

"Eh. Not really. I mean, you can't have everyone like you."

"I agree. You know, I used to be a fighter when I was a young man," Mr. Sanban mentioned.

"Were you?" Wally's dad responded, interested once again.

The rest of dinner went that way. The parents bringing up random topics, and the kids making small comments, trying to keep the subject from drifting to themselves, but still wanting to be included in the conversation. Everyone except Mushi.

At the end of the night, while the Beatles were all leaving, Wally pulled Kuki aside.

"Hey Kuki?" Wally started.

"Yes?"

Wally put his hands in his pockets, lessening his nervousness. "Look, I just wanted to say thanks, for helping me out a bit there. It would have been… a lot more awkward otherwise," Wally said with a laugh at the end of his thank you.

Kuki just laughed. "Don't worry about it Wally. I couldn't have a guest be miserable can I?" she said with a playful smile.

Wally shrugged. "Eh. I would have made dinner insufferable for you," Wally joked.

Kuki rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder. "Even after everything I've done for you? Jerk."

Wally let himself stumble and laughed. "Can't let myself get bored now can I?"

"Wally! C'mon son! We're goin home!" Wally's dad called from the car.

"A'right I'm comin!" Wally called back. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow Sanban."

"Will you be on time this time?" Kuki asked playfully.

Wally shrugged. "Depends on my mood. G'night." He waved goodbye.

"Night." Kuki smiled and gave an awkward wave and walked back inside. She closed the door behind her, and she decided that maybe tutoring Wallaby Beatles wouldn't be as bad as everyone claimed it was.

Meanwhile, Wally was tapping his fingers on the car door along to a song on the radio while his parents were discussing doing that again next week. Wally couldn't decide whether to smile or grimace. Kuki turned out to be better than the cruddy sheila who had dragged him across the school, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to see her outside of school so often yet.

* * *

**A/N: **The next chapter is going to be much shorter and will just focus on Tommy and why he gets so frustrated with Hank. We'll also see part of the conflict Abby goes through everyday.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Another update?! In one day?! AMAZING! Yes everyone, this is the second update I've done today. chapter 11 is also up if you want to read that.

So, we're backing up a bit to where Abby has to go talk to Tommy, so this is a bunch of younger sibling rage. Tommy IS 13 at this point, but clearly he's still holding onto a lot of stuff from his childhood. Abby tries to help him out, but this goes in pretty deep. We also see his own conflict going on in his head.

**But I wouldn't ignore this chapter if I were you**. Remember how I said I'd give you guys a preview of the things to come? Yeah well I gave you guys one.

* * *

Chapter 12

Tommy was just in his room, fuming into his pillow. Hoagie was such a doody-head… just a mean teenge doody-head. Just a huge–

_Knock knock knock._ "Ey Tommy, can I come in?"

"No teenagers allowed!" Tommy shouted. Tommy liked Abby, she was really cool, but she was a teenager too. She was part of the group stealing Hoagie away from him and replacing him with _Hank_.

"C'mon Tommy. I've got something for yoouu…" Abby teased light-heartedly.

Tommy buried his face in his pillow. He can't believe he forgot his geometry book in Hoagie's room… and he liked his geometry book. He could just _leave it_ with those teenagers… He trudged grumpily to the door and opened it to find Abby just standing there with the book in her arms. She offered it to him and he grabbed at it, but then she pulled it away.

"Can I come in?" she asked nicely. Tommy glowered but didn't close the door. His own geometry book used against him. Just like a teenager. Not giving him an option. Tommy plopped himself onto his bed then sat up. When Abby sat on his bed.

Abby placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now Tommy–"

"Leave me alone…" Tommy mumbled, shaking off Abby's hand.

"What happened?"

"Hoagie was being a doody-head that's what… I just wanted help with my homework but all he wanted to do is work on his stupid robot! He doesn't even let me help him with his inventions anymore…"

"Well, he's just… older Tommy–"

"I know that! You all got older! You were all _cool_ when–" Tommy stopped himself right before he mentioned the Kids Next Door. He hated it. He hated that he had to keep their secret. He wasn't allowed to tell them… that's why #363 won't decommission him. Sure he wasn't an _official _member but he still knew a lot. Plus, he was surrounded by former operatives. More anxious members have strongly suggested decommissioning Tommy because of how dangerous Sector V and X-Number 362 would be as teenagers.

Number 1 was the best strategist and leader the Kids next Door has seen next to Number 0. Even worse, as a Kids Next Door operative, he had had clearance for very top secret information.

Number 2 practically invented most of the current Kids Next Door 2x4 technology and knew everything about their technology, communications, security, and top secret weapons. And it's clear that he has not lost _any_ of his talent with technology and design.

Number 3 was passionate and defensive. She was a strong and influencial ally, but she was definitely a terrifying enemy – although her gentle nature of the past 3 years made her less of a concern.

Number 4 was (is) a powerful fighter capable of surprising strength and speed. His skill has only improved since his decommissioning. As stupid as he can be, under a good leader he is extremely effective. His current status as a bully make many members anxious about the possibility of him siding with the rest of teenage bullies.

Number 5 had fighting skills equal to –perhaps better than –Number 4 and leadership skills that matched Number 1. And like Number 1 she had clearance to a lot of top secret information. Her skills as a fighter and a leader make her a double threat, just like Number 1.

The Kids Next Door's worst fear was that they could somehow recall their memories of their time in the KND and may return with a vengeance. And due to Numbers 1, 5, and 362's high ranking in the Kids Next Door, if they decided to disclose top secret information to the teenagers, it would be all over for them. Five of the best operatives the Kids Next Door have ever seen, fighting against them as teens…

"Tommy?" Abby pulled Tommy out of his thoughts.

Tommy looked away from him and crossed her arms. "He was cooler when he was younger… he cared more."

"Aw c'mon Tommy. You _know_ Hank cares about you just as Hoagie did."

"Then why can't we hang out?! Why can't he even help me with my homework?! He's just some stupid teenager and so are you! You're all just… just… shadows!" Tommy cried. He didn't want _Hank_! He wanted his brother!

He could remember… he could remember when Hoagie was eleven he finally started hanging out with him more. He remembered when they would work on new inventions for the Kids Next Door. Hoagie even made stuff for Tommy and made Tommy like Batman! He would still yell at Tommy sometimes, but that's what brothers did. Sometimes Hoagie would even go buy them ice cream… he could remember his memories. And it hurt that that's all they'd ever be. Memories.

Abby grabbed Tommy by the shoulders and shook him. "Tommy! Look at me! Your brother _loves_ you. Yuh hear me? He _loves_ you Tommy. He would never do _anything_ to _ever_ hurt you. He's your big brother. As Hoagie or Hank, he's still your brother. Your brother is harsh. I know. He can be a jerk to you, but that's what big brothers _do_."

"No… that's what teenagers do…"

Abby loosened her grip on Tommy's shoulders. "We're not all like that Tommy… I know you're not gonna be like that."

Tommy bit his lip. "Hoagie said he wouldn't be like that either…"

Abby pulled Tommy closer to her, hugging his shoulders. "Sometimes baby, we make promises we can't keep. But I know he still loves you Tommy. I know he does. It'll be like before again soon. You'll see…"

Tommy was silent for a long time, fighting back tears. Fighting back memories and images. He didn't want to believe her. He wanted to push her away and call her a liar, but all that came out was "I hope so…"

* * *

**PREVIEWS****:**

"_I can't do this… Hank I can't do this…" "Get a hold of yourself Nigel! Get back out there, and do this! You've been setting up for this for two __**years**__ now. You're ready."_

"_So… how was your date?" Kuki asked, not looking up at him._

"_I lost him… I lost one of my best mates and there's nothing I can do now…" Wally said, his voice full of resignation. She had never seen him look so resigned. Honestly, she hoped she never saw him like this again. It didn't suit him._

"_Well, don't you look nice?" Kuki said with a playful smile. _

"_You still have a choice." –Abby_

"_You know Nigel, you don't have to hold onto everything…" Abby said reassuringly. But Nigel still couldn't look at her. He couldn't look at any of them. Not without breaking down. _

"_I don't know about this Wally… this doesn't feel right…" –Kuki_

"_Darn it Rachel! You ruined __**everything**__ and you don't even know it!" Abby shouted in her face._

"_You kept me waiting! How hard do you think that was?!" Kuki cried, tears forming in her eyes._

"_WHAT DID YOU __**DO!**__" Wally yelled angrily. _

"_Sally? It's Wally" Wally hesitated for a moment, but Sally remained silent. "I'm in."_

"_She's right. We can't just wait around anymore…" Nigel said thoughtfully._

"_So… um…I heard things didn't go as planned yesterday," Wally started awkwardly. "No… no they did not…" Kuki replied through her teeth without looking up from her work._

"_Oh yeah? Keep walking! Walk away from __**everything**__ you've __**ever**__ fought for!" Derek shouted._

_"Run away! Run away like the cowards you are!" -Lucas  
_

"_I told yuh yuh little ankle biter. I'll_ _let you beat me when you deserve it. Now get up 'n fight for it!"_

_"Tommy don't!" -Hank  
_

"_**THEY TOSSED US ASIDE! THEY TOSSED US ALL ASIDE LIKE GARBAGE! WE HADN'T CHANGED AT ALL AND THEY STILL FORCED US TO GROW UP! THEY BETRAYED US! AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE FOR THEM! THEY STOLE EVERYTHING FROM US! THEY MADE US ALL HAPPY AND JUST STOLE IT ALL AWAY FROM US!" **_

"_Kids Next Door! **Battle Stations**!"_

_"There's nothing I can do to make up for it... not this time..." "You'll find away. I know you will."  
_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** So... once again this chapter takes me forever. I'm sorry you guys I just didn't know what int he world I was going to do with this chapter. I got to one scene and hit a very thick wall. And then I decided to take a few days to think about things... and a week ago I decided what I was going to do with Kuki's confrontation with Ms. Thomas. Tragically though, when I came back to check on my story, I was missing 2 whole scenes. T_T  
But, I thought I've been keeping you guys waiting WAAAY too long for this chapter. So I've decided to lessen your anxiety and give you this little chapter. I'll upload the next one next week once I get my thoughts back together.

On a different note, because I want to prevent this from happening, I've decided to look for someone to shoot ideas around with. And to send me on a guilt trip if I take more than 2 weeks to upload a chapter. So... basically an editor. (God I know I'm going to regret putting this out there buuuut...) You'll get to help me break through writers blocks and get previews to what's coming up. So, if you're interested message me, I'll check out some of your works and decide if we're a good match.

* * *

Chapter 13

The final Minute bell rang and Wallabee Beatles strut into his English class. He knew the sophomores all paid attention to him. They either admired him or rolled their eyes, but all eyes were on him.

He slipped into his seat and placed his legs on the metal tray under the seat of a girl in front of him. He gently bounced his foot, fully aware that it would turn her into a storm of teenage hormones. He smirked at the thought of her blushing like crazy, doing her best to ignore her racing heart.

He did this until the final bell rang and breathed a laugh as her shoulders drooped. Like every girl within three seats of him, she got excited over the smallest things that involved most excitable was the girl next to him.

"Psst, Wally," Lisa whispered. She was a nice girl overall. She was a cute blond with bright green eyes and a sweet smile. It wasn't hard for Wally to make her blush or jealous. He used to mess with her a lot, but sometime in November he saw tears in her eyes so he had stopped, but that had just made her try harder. That's the problem with hormonal girls. Give them a chance and they throw it all out of proportion. Unfortunately for her, he didn't have the heart –or too much heart to –set her straight. "If you hurry up you can copy my homework before _Thomas_ collects it."

Wally looked at her desk as she pushed a piece of paper towards him. Experience told him it would take him about eight minutes to copy it, twelve if he didn't copy it word for word.

Wally smiled deviously. "Thanks Lisa, but I don need it."

Lisa looked at him, clearly confused. Wally winked at her but saw four girls around him blush. Maybe five, but the girl in front of him had completely turned away.

Wally only vaguely paid attention while Ms. Thomas lectured on the Crucible. Wally smirked when she refused to look in his direction. She thought he had no idea what she was talking about. She thought he was just another blank face in the class, but little did _she_ know he understood it **all**.

"Well class, while you're answering the questions on the board, I'm going to go around and collect the homework." Wally felt the smirk on his face grow. He eagerly tapped his fingers on his desk as he watched Ms. Thomas walk towards his row. She collected the homework student by student, row by row. He was in the last row at the back of the class. He noticed Lisa eyeing him nervously, but he just shot her a confident and naughty smile that forced her to look away –although she clearly brushed her hair back for him to see her blushing cheeks.

Finally Ms. Thomas got to his row. He bowed his head to hide his smirk. He saw her feet step past him, without collecting his homework. "Ohhh Ms. _Thoomaaaas…_" Wally sing-songed.

Ms. Thomas stopped and turned around, her hand on her hip. "_Yes _Mr. Beatles?"

Wally confidently waved his homework in the air. "You forgot to collect _my_ homework."

Ms. Thomas's frowning face wasn't fazed. Wally waited, but the more timed that passed, the more anxious he got. "Mr. Beatles, you know the rules," she began. "If I collect copied work, _both_ students get an F and are sent to the dean for the incident to be put on their permanent record."

"But I didn't –!"

She impatiently held up her hand to stop him. "I don't want to hear it. I know you don't care if _you_ pass this class or not, but don't drag Lisa down with you."

This was unbelievable! Wally had _actually_ done his work and he was being accused of cheating!

"But Ms. Thomas!" Lisa started, getting up out of her seat. "Our papers would be completely different! Just read them!"

"_Miss Nett!_ Mr. Beatles had _many_ people he can copy from. You'd benefit from remembering that," she said coldly.

Lisa recoiled, a pained and shocked expression on her face while she slowly sat down, but Wally stood up reflexively. "Oi –!"

"_**Sit down**_ Mr. Beatles before I send to the dean's office!"

"I'll go there right now!" Wally shouted, then smoothly slung his backpack on his shoulder and stormed out of the class. He knew everyone was staring at him again, every single one of them. But this time, he actually cared.

Once the door closed behind him he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

In the middle of her English teacher's lecture, Kuki felt her cell phone vibrate. The unexpected feeling made her jump. She glanced up at the teacher and decided he was too enraptured in _Tortilla Curtain_, so she decided it was safe to check her phone.

_Thomas wuldnt accept my hw!_

Kuki frowned at her phone. _Why not?_

_She think I copied the grl nxt to me _

Kuki looked up at her teacher when she heard him pause, but he was just answering a question. She knew he'd be just as distracted once he restarted, so she just waited. _Alright. I'll go with you to talk to her after class alright?_

_Puh! good luck! _

_Are you going to come or not?_

She had to wait for his reply for a few minutes. _Fine meet me in front of B15 _

_K_

Once Kuki put her phone back into her pocket, she tapped her desk nervously. She knew most teachers were… unpleasant around Wally. It wasn't going to be easy to convince the teach otherwise… but it wasn't fair that Wally worked on his homework –as casually as he did –and didn't get any credit for it. She needed to help him out.

"Miss Sanban!" Mr. Foster said firmly. Kuki's train of thought stopped as she met the teacher's stern gaze. "Would you like to explain to the class the significance of the passage I just read?"

Kuki's mind pulled a blank for a second as she just stared at the teacher, unable to force his topic at the time to her mind. "Um… sorry Mr. Foster… my mind was somewhere else."

Mr. Foster just smiled and shook his head. "Please stay focused Kuki. We don't need you to fall behind."

Kuki blushed at her teacher's reproach and shrunk a little in her seat. "Yes sir… sorry…"

He nodded and went back to talking about the book. But Kuki already annotated this chapter. She needed to think about what she was going to do about Wally's teacher…


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **So we're picking up a little while before Kuki goes to talk to Wally's bitchy English teacher. I'm introducing yet ANOTHER OC named David. DON'T HATE HIM! He's not meant to be hated... and no I have no intention of killing him off. haha Also, we see how much Kuki has actually grown up and how similar she is to her mother. It's a longer chapter, but that's because I decided not to cut this chapter in half. I think you guys deserve to fangirl/boy in anticipation for what is to come. x)

The next chapter is going to revolve around Abby and her delicate situation. And I _MAY _write a short story on Joey later on. Or just give him a chapter in his story.

About the editor position, I haven't looked at anyone since I had finals this week. ^_^; The only reason this is even up is because I had written it before... but it was somehow deleted. I didn't upload it because it had a few minor problems with the fight between Kuki and Ms. Thomas. It just seemed... awkward. Which is why I need an editor. These little issues have a tendency to hold up a story for a looong time... if you guys were less loving, I probably wouldn't have updated until Christmas.

* * *

Chapter 14

"Hey, Kuki! Where are you going?" a voice called behind her. Kuki turned around and found a boy named David jogging to catch up with her. He stopped in front of her and smirked playfully. "You know, your bio class is that way," he said smartly.

Kuki smiled at him and rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up," Kuki shot back, shoving his shoulder before walking again. "I need to go talk to Ms. Thomas about something."

David was a nice guy. Kuki's known him for three years now. He shared most of her classes except English. They even had the same tutoring period, but they usually didn't talk during their tutoring period. Sometimes they'll talk _after_, but both of them prefer to give their students their full attention. David was Japanese, but more Americanized than Kuki. He had his black hair cut short and usually dressed semiformal, although you could catch him in shorts and a sweatshirt when he's in the mood.

David cocked his head in confusion. "Thomas?" He probably hadn't heard about her. Kuki had to admit, she hadn't either.

"She's a normal" –normal as in not honors or AP– "tenth grade English teacher. I need to go talk to her about not accepting Wally's homework today."

"You mean Beatles? Yeah I noticed you were working with him now. Isn't he a Junior though?"

Kuki shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess he needed to retake the class. He isn't the best student ever," Kuki admitted, feeling a bit guilty for voicing her opinion behind Wally's back.

David breathed a laugh. "Yeah, no kidding. I had him in my art class last year…" David scratched the back of his head, "he really gave the teacher some grief. I mean, the guy has no sense of self control or drive. I don't know why you–" David stopped when he caught Kuki's disapproving scowl. Sure, she didn't hold Wally's academic record to the highest regard, but David didn't need to start ranting about it. "I'm just saying. You can't completely blame the teacher for doubting his work habits."

Kuki sighed, holding her book against her lap. "Yeah… I know. But, I'm his tutor now. And he actually _did _do the homework. I mean, it's not fair for him to finally put in the work into things and then not get credit."

"Yeah… I know. But hey if anyone could whip that kid into shape it's you," David encouraged, gently nudging Kuki's shoulder.

Kuki smiled at him and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks David… but you should probably get going. The Bell is probably gonna ring pretty soon."

David –possibly blushing –nodded and started walking away. "Anytime… and hey!" Kuki turned around again. "If your way doesn't work or he does anything funny," David punched his palm.

Kuki –knowing David's gentle nature –couldn't help but giggle as she waved goodbye. Satisfied by her reaction, David smiled and turned around. Kuki rounded the corner, shaking her head with a smile, thinking about how ridiculous that boy could be, when she ran into an orange wall.

"Enjoy your romantic stroll with puppy love?" Wally teased with a mean smirk.

Kuki's blush deepened. "His name is _David_," she corrected coldly, stepping past Wally, "and it _wasn't_ a romantic stroll. He was just curious about why I was coming here."

Wally swaggered next to her with his hands in his sweatshirt's pocket. "Uh-huh. You might want to tell that to loverboy over there. That hug almost turned him into a puddle." Wally stopped and started snickering under one hand.

Kuki sent a sharp glare towards Wally. "It's not nice to laugh at people…"

Wally sneered and opened the door to B15 for her and gave her a mocking bow. "Yes ma'am."

Kuki shot him a dirty look, but once she saw the teacher she wiped her annoyance away from her face. She was here for a job, and she was dealing with a superior. Calm, cool, professional.

"Excuse me?" Kuki said softly, keeping her voice light. Not too high pitched that it was unappealing, but enough that she had that friendly edge; not too much force to put the teacher on the defensive, but enough to let her know she was serious.

Ms. Thomas looked up and smiled kindly at Kuki. "Hello, how may I help-" Kuki noticed her eyes flicker towards Wally, "you…"

All politeness dropped out of her voice. Kuki widened her smile a bit. "Hi, I'm Kuki Sanban," Kuki offered her hand which Ms. Thomas grudgingly accepted. "I'm in Mr. Foster's class."

"Oh…" Ms. Thomas sat back in her chair. "Yes I think he's mentioned you a few times. He says it's a shame that I didn't get you in ninth grade at least."

Good. She knows Mr. Foster and knows I'm an AP student. "I guess so. Heh… well, actually I'm here for Wallabee. I'm his student tutor and he told me that you wouldn't accept his homework today." Kuki held her breath a little. She gave the teacher some wiggle room, but if the teacher felt she was being backed into a corner she would pull rank and shut her out easy.

"I did. He copied his homework from the girl next to him. He does it all the time. I decided that I wasn't going to let him get away with it this time."

Kuki felt Wally tense up behind her, but she made sure she kept her composure. "Well, did you check the paper? To see if they were different?" Kuki asked, assuming the answer.

"No, I did not. I didn't need to. I saw her offer and he doubtlessly accepted it. She's a very bright girl… but very naïve."

Kuki couldn't keep her eyebrow from going up. "…are you implying that I'm trying to cover for Mr. Beatles?"

Ms. Thomas looked upwards, then slowly began to nod. "Yes… yes I believe so."

Kuki bit her lip, trying keep up her businesslike persona. "Ms. Thomas, I don't think I appreciate that."

"And I don't like students making other students lie to my face," Ms. Thomas retorted, shooting a look towards Wally.

Before Wally could make a sound, Kuki slammed her palm down on the table, pulling the teacher's attention back to her… like a disobedient dog. "Let me see the girl's paper."

"Excuse me?"

"Let me. See. The girl's. Paper," Kuki said slowly, her impatience finally seeping through her mask.

Ms. Thomas looked past her, and Kuki finally became aware of the Sophomores filling the room, waiting for their second period to start, watching a Junior argue with their teacher. Perfect. Just what she needed. An audience to make the teacher fight Kuki off just to keep authority. "I don't think I like your tone miss Sanban."

"And I don't like your attitude Miss Thomas. You could end this by letting me see the girl's paper. Or I could go to the counselor and ask him about this. I think he would _love _to hear about our pleasant conversation," Kuki threatened. She could feel all the amazed eyes on her. She was standing up to a teacher. It was probably the most exciting thing these sophomores had seen all year.

Ms. Thomas stared Kuki down for a few seconds… before shuffling through a pile of papers on her desk and pulling one out. Kuki smiled sarcastically before taking the paper from the teacher and holding her hand out towards Wally. Wally immediately rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a piece of slightly wrinkled paper.

Kuki put them next to each other and started comparing them aloud. "Wally's answers are much longer, but… Lisa's answers are more concise. Wally took a bit of time to figure out what he actually wanted to say. He also wrote down evidence while Lisa just answered the questions with short summaries. Wally's analyses are longer than Lisa's. You can't even suggest that these two papers are plagiarized," concluded Kuki, handing the papers back to the teacher.

Ms. Thomas snatched the papers back and looked at them both. Kuki crossed her arms and waited. She looked back at Wally for a second and saw him smiling, clearly enjoying her defeated expression.

After a few seconds, the teacher put the two papers in the pile on her desk. "I guess I was wrong… my apologies Mr. Beatles. It seems I falsely accused you of plagiarism."

Wally scoffed. "Yeah you did. And you know what?"

Kuki elbowed him before he could finish, creating a ripple of giggles throughout the room. "Thank you Ms. Thomas. I appreciate your understandings. Now if you excuse us, we have to get to class."

"Would you like a note?"

Kuki forced a polite smile. "No thank you, we have time. Have a nice day Ms. Thomas."

"You too, Miss Sanban. Mister Beatles."

Wally gave her a mocking salute and basically strut out of the room, a complete contrast to Kuki's controlled, apathetic walk.

Once they rounded the corner, Wally out his excitement while Kuki kept up her mask. "Did you see her _face_?! It was _priceless_!"

"…I can't believe she said that to me…" Kuki said. Wally couldn't help but hear the tension in her voice.

He nonchalantly crossed his arms behind his head. "Eh. She's jus' pissy with me. That's all. She's not mad at me, not you. Don' take it personally Sanban."

But Wally could tell she was taking it personally. He couldn't see her expression because of her bangs, but everything else shouted resentment. He knew that form… he'd walked out of that damn class with the same body language plenty of times.

"She called me a liar…" Kuki grumbled. "She thinks that I would lie… for_ you_ of all people…" Wally grimaced a bit, but Kuki's comment seemed to snap her out of it. "Oh… I didn't mean…"

Wally shrugged carelessly and put his hands in his pockets. "Don' worry about it. You're just irritated. It's OK. She gets under my skin too. Bit of a natural bitch, I think. Sheila should try having sex every now and again."

Kuki looked at him shocked, and Wally wondered if his attempt at humor to calm her nerves had slid right past some rule of decency she had against talking about teachers and sex. But then, rather than arguing against his vulgar thoughts, she laughed. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

Wally smiled, glad he had cheered her up. She had a nice smile, he had to admit. And a laugh too. He felt a blush creeping up to his cheeks, but fortunately Sanban wasn't focusing on and analyzing every movement he made. She looked forward, making sure she didn't bump into the passing-period-stragglers running around.

"Hey… Kuki?" Wally started once he got his blood under control. Kuki looked up at him with the same deer-eye look she had given her when he had left their session the day before. The memory, her expression, and his intended statement forced the blood back into his cheek. "I- uh… just wan'ed to say that it was…" Wally struggled a bit… thinking that some physical contact was needed for his statement to have full effect… but what did you do to a girl when you appreciated them? He settled on a soft punch to the shoulder, "really cool what you did for me… thank you."

Kuki seemed to accept the punch as appropriate and smiled up at him. "Anytime Wally. I didn't mind…" she looked back towards the classroom, "that much."

Wally chuckled. "What can I say? The woman's a pill."

Kuki laughed again and nodded in agreement. Then her smile became a little less kind. "But you're still not forgiven for making fun of David."

Wally rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Fine. I'm sorry about insulting loverboy."

Kuki looked like she was about to say something back, but the minute bell finally rang, so she ran for it. Wally laughed aloud, and Kuki turned around. "We're going to talk about this during sixth period."

Wally beckoned her with both hands. "Bring it Sanban!" he challenged playfully.

Kuki smiled and continued running. Wally chuckled and couldn't help but noticed Kuki's green shirt lifted up a bit when she ran… showing how her black tights wrapped around her bottom. Wally chuckled as he wondered if David would have looked away.

As a friend watched him walk towards his health class, Wally started to think that Kuki really wasn't as bad as he'd thought she'd be. Maybe school could be sufferable for at least one period.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**: A long wait again, but I needed think through this chapter a bit more. Unfortunately Abby doesn't write herself like Kuki and Wally do. All this chapter was supposed to do is push home that Abby is SERIOUSLY walking on eggshells. For those of you who haven't picked up on my little hint in the previous chapter with Abby, this chapter should push the idea through. Anyway, it's pretty long and it's mostly thought, but there's some AbbyxHank going on. Oh, and if you notice on a couple of occasions now she's nearly called Hank Hoagie in her mind. So there, that's one hint for free.

#5: Abigail Lincoln  
AP English  
AP Biology  
TA'ing  
Honors US History  
Honors Trigonometry  
Adv. Martial Arts

#2: Hank Gilligan  
AP Physics C  
AP Calculus  
AP Computer Science  
Honors US History  
PE  
Honors English 11

* * *

Chapter 15

Abigail Lincoln absently watched the ninth grader try to solve an Algebra 2 problem all by themselves. Abby had seen the scenario play out five times now. A middle school genius slacks off at the beginning of high school, assuming that they could just slide through high school. She'll admit, some kids just could, but others can't. So when the second semester comes up, they panic and ask for a tutoring period. Right now the student was relearning how to change a quadratic equation into a standard form equation.

She couldn't help but look at the child and imagine how hard working they were just a year ago. How they had minded their parents, how they had a drive to succeed, how all they had around them was positive influences.

But in a few months, all those good habits had gone down the drain because of being surrounded by lazy teens.

Not all teens were bad, some were really cool, but most of them were followers. There were a few scattered leaders here and there, but the majority of teens were just followers. Followers who needed a leader, a leader who already had countless attractive followers.

Abby looked around the room and sighed. She knows she was a leader once upon a time. She had people who depended on her, people who would follow her lead, and she would follow others. It was a simple system. A fun one with the right people. But now, she had to act like a follower. That's how you blend in in high school. You follow someone else.

"Hey, Abby? Did I do it right?" the ninth grader asked, his eyes filled with the need for acceptance, for a word of praise.

Abby smiled kindly and looked over the paper, making sure the freshman had followed every rule, and made sure all of his calculations were done correctly –by hand. When she was done double checking his paper, she smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "You got it babeh," she said earnestly. The boy's smile seemed to light up the whole room, more than grateful for her small bit of praise. Abby's smile softened as her hand rested on his head. She felt happy for the kid, for his small victory.

Maybe Abby did still have a few followers of her own.

Abby looked up and saw a hostile face, watching her carefully. Her name was Tammy, one of Sally's followers.

She was the one who came up with the current rumor circulating within the teen's brigade: Abby wasn't one of them. Sure, Abby was over 13, but that didn't mean she had the brigade's ideals at heart. Maybe she didn't care that she was older. Maybe she didn't think that younger kids should be forced below them. Maybe she didn't want to be an adult as quickly as possible. Maybe she didn't want to cause the adults and kids grief over their actions. Maybe, just maybe, she actually _liked_ the younger kids...

Abby's face turned stern. She couldn't drop more hints… "Hey," she started, looking at the student's grade sheet, "it says here that you didn't do the homework for this lesson."

The boy, Taylor, smiled meekly. "Yeah… I didn't. But hey, I got it now don't I?" he said hopefully. Abby felt sorry for Taylor; he knew what was coming.

"Just to make sure you do, do it."

Taylor's mouth fell open, as if he didn't expect this. Then again, he probably didn't. Abby usually didn't make him do whole homework assignments over again. "You're kidding, right Abby?"

Abby sat back in her chair. "You shoulda done it when you were supposed to." Abby handed him the old assignment sheet, feeling hurt by Taylor's glare beneath his bangs.

But when Abby looked back up at Tammy, she looked satisfied enough. And when Abby looked just behind Tammy, to a boy named Derek to meet his eyes, he nodded privily after he quickly lowering his eyes back to his work.

Abby looked back at her student and saw his eyes do the same thing, though with significantly less grace.

Abby sighed deeply.

Eyes. There were always eyes on her now adays. Either approving or suspicious. She hated this period because of that. For most of the day, she only had to wear one mask at a time. For the next… fifteen minutes though, she still had to juggle two masks and a face.

She needed to stay hidden, but give enough signal to both sides that she was still on their sides.

What scared her sometimes, especially during moments like these is she was too good at it. Too eager for it to work. Right now, the boy next to her was ready to master his next lesson, he's earned a chance for his next small victory, but she needed to steal that from him to win her own small victory.

She closed her eyes, remembering a time when she had the luxury of sacrificing her own goals for the goals of others. She still remembered giving up one goal for the greater good of the people she loved. Things had been easier then… being on one side and one side only…

Suddenly the bell rang and Abby's eyes shot open. Fifteen minutes had just shot past. She looked down at Taylor who had only done 3 problems –using a calculator. She looked up briefly, saw Tammy turned around to pack her bag. Derek was still facing her.

Abby touched Taylor's shoulder and he looked at her with a face that held the beginning features of resentment. She could imagine the things he would say to his friends during passing period, the thoughts that would flow through his head as he walked home. "Don't worry about the rest. Just look over the next lesson, alright?" she said quietly.

Taylor looked at her curiously, but Abby was already walking towards the exit. She heard someone pushing through the crowd... as usual. "You're too soft," Derek grumbled as he passed her.

Abby didn't pause or respond. She couldn't. Tammy would be watching her closely until her boyfriend captured her attention once they passed the English building. Or until-

"Abby! Wait up!" someone called from down the hall. Abby looked and saw Hoa– Hank jogging to reach her. Seeing him made Abby smile. She didn't need a mask with him. Well she did, but only rarely. He didn't know much about anything, and she liked it that way.

"Hey babeh." She slid her fingers between his and kissed his cheek. "How was comp science?"

Hank closed his hand around hers and walked along side her. "Eh. It was alright. Just learning about the different errors in looping. Nothing I haven't run into before. Although I think James might be trying to infect the whole computer system with spyware while the teacher wasn't looking," he said nonchalantly.

Abby frowned at his calmness. "Isn't that… yuh know… bad?"

Hank shrugged. "It would be… if he had been at his computer the whole time. He went to the bathroom and I changed the programming a bit."

Abby loved the smirk that formed on his face. She gave him a playful reprimanding looking, "What did you do?"

"Just made it a restart program. Scared the hell out of him though. He thought he infected his own computer and knew he was going to get caught."

"So, what's gonna happen to 'im?"

Hank shrugged. "Probably gonna kick him out of class. Forbid him from touching another school computer. Possibly call the police."

Abby sighed. "Guess that's what chuh get when you're doin' somethin' you're not suppose to."

"Yeah… Although I'll admit, it was some pretty skilled work. I was impressed. I don't really do programming myself so…"

"Yeah. You're more of a design person. I still don get why you took computer science instead uh design. It woulda been more… you."

Hank let go of her hand and crossed his arms behind his head. "Yeah… but I wouldn't have learned anything. I learned everything myself."

"Everything?" Abby questioned doubtfully.

Hank smirked at her direction. "Everything."

Abby took off her hat and hit him in the face with it before quickly replacing it. "Someone's gettin' cocky."

Hank laughed. "It's not cocky if it's true." Abby rolled her eyes, and Hank caught her arm before they rounded the corner. "Hey." He held her chin and pulled her in for a kiss.

It was soft, and he kept her there for a few seconds… not that she wanted to move. She had waited a whole year to kiss him like this, and she still enjoyed it after a year and a half. Each one was worth the wait.

But eventually he pulled away, and she let him. "Thanks for keeping my ego in check…" then he pulled out his charming smirk. "Even if you blow it back up again."

Abigail brushed back her bangs, trying to push his attention away from her cheeks. She didn't like losing her cool, least of all letting people see evidence of it, but every now and again he found a way to squeeze through the cracks in her calm demeanor. "I don't think I mind…"

He took advantage of her nervous impulse and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad. Anyway, I need to start walking to class."

Abby raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yeah, really." He turned a bit to walk away and waved good bye. "I'll see you later."

She rolled her eyes and waved back as he began to walk away. "And hey, Hank!"

Hank turned back towards her, walking backwards. "Yeah Abby?"

She smiled and winked at him. "Love yuh."

Hank smiled excitedly and went down on one knee. "And I, Hank Pennywhistle Gilligan Junior, love you, Abigail Lincoln," he said a bit loudly,

Abby smiled and shook her head. "Boy, you crazy?" She couldn't help but chuckle as he got up, smiling at the people giving him strange looks.

"Only for you," he said, winking at her playfully. Abby just shook her head and walked into class.

She sat down, setting her backpack on the floor, and counted. She got to 38 before Hank came rushing into class. He gave her a sheepish smile before sitting himself down. She just chuckled along with the rest of the class, shaking her head. Sometimes he got so carried away with his goodbye antics that he forgot he was supposed to come with her.

But he rarely cared. She played along and let him make her smile. That's all that seemed to matter to him. For once, there was someone going out of their way for her… it gave her a bit of comfort to have someone nearby who was just on her side. Not that they shared a side, he was just on her side. No matter what.

Unfortunately, she couldn't stay with him after US History ended. She had a meeting to attend during lunch… even if she wanted to do no more than share a tray of school fries with the boy who was sad to hear she couldn't.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Yay a chapter! So yeah my first chapter of the new year! Sorry I haven't uploaded over the holidays but I started writing something else and couldn't focus on this. I feel like Wally's dialogue is a bit off, but I'll fix that later on. Just so you know, his dialogue will get more Australian when he gets mad.

So this chapter will have Wally, Lucas, Nigel, and Rachel. Someone complained that there wasn't enough of 1x362, so I decided to just throw them in there. You'll also meet a girl named Seline who will only be brought up occasionally. I have enough main characters and I don't want to add another one. The ones I have now are enough of a hand full.

You'll also get to see a bit of Wally and Nigel talking, so you'll hear a little bit more about why they're fighting, but now much. I plan on writing a whole chapter explaining that one, but that'll come after. For now you see Lucas and Wally's relationship. They're actually pretty dependent on each other. Lucas is a creep, so no one really likes him and he usually uses Wally to keep him in line. Lucas is currently Wally's closest friend, so he needs his approval, even if Wally doesn't approve of Lucas all the time.

Also, I'm going to start putting in the time frame when all this stuff happens so we all have a good idea of when everything should happen. I'm basing it off of the year 2009 since the show started in 2002 when they were all ten, so six years later during a second semester would be 2009. Sorry for the system, but I do plan on this being a long story and I can't do _every day_ so this is an easy way to let you guys know how much time has passed and what should be going on in the fanfic... except weather. I'm going to play God and if I need there to be rain in the middle of August, then **darn it there will be rain in August!**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

_Wednesday, January 22  
__End of 4th period-Lunch  
_

Wally yawned and tapped his foot against the back of his desk. The teacher was going on about A's and B's and X's... slopes and intercepts... axes and points. Wally looked down at his book and just saw a jumble of letters. For a second he thought he was in French... but then he remembered he didn't have a French class.

Finding himself lost already, Wally decided to put his head down and try to go back to sleep.

"Mr. Beatles that text the book is worth more than a pillow," his teacher said apathetically.

Wally immediately lifted his head up. "Oh. Uh... sorry Miss Yosh I couldn't... couldn't see the words. Just gettin a closer look at the page, tha's all."

Mrs. Yoshino raised an eyebrow and smiled like she believed him. "Mhmm. Well Mr. Beatles you be happy to know you only have to put up with this class for five more minutes and then it's off to lunch with you and you can sleep as much as you want then. Can you put off the Sandman til then?"

Wally gave her a serious salute. Wally did his best to pay attention... but that didn't last long. After two minutes, he noticed a pretty little skirt pass by the door... and then that the shadow never passed the door. She held his attention for the next three minutes until the bell rang.

Wally's attention was once again diverted by the Pavlov effect caused by the bell. He pushed everything into his back, except his pencils which he took care to place in their respective pockets.

"Well I'm glad to see your homework's here Mr. Beatles," Mrs. Yoshino said with a teasing smirk.

Wally shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hide the bit of happiness caused by his teacher's comment. "Eh. miracles happen this Miss Yosh."

His algebra teacher laughed. "Well I hope they keep happening, especially with your new tutor around."

Wally turned around with a frown. "How did you–?"

"The walls have ears Mr. Beatles. The walls have ears," his teacher said cryptically, dramatically lifting her papers to cover her face. Wally stayed there, looking at her with an incredulous expression. Eventually she lowered the papers to glare at him, then lifted the papers quickly. "Shoo," she commanded, waving her hand. "It's uncomfortable to grade like this and if I put them down now it'll ruin the effect. Shoo."

Wally, along with some lingering students, laughed at his teacher's antics before walking out the door. Wally swung his backpack onto his shoulder and began to walk out.

"Um, excuse me, Wally?" said a soft voice behind him. Wally turned towards the voice and found a small Sophomore standing behind him. She was a curly-haired brunette, a good 7 inces shorter than he was. Cute in an innocent way. Dressed clean, a bit of makeup on, but not too much save for the clumpy mascara.

"Oh, uh. Hey..." Crud. He didn't know her name!

"Seline," she told him kindly, not surprised that he didn't know her name. "I'm in your health class…"

Wally blinked. He remembered the name and the face now, but he couldn't place her to any actions or any analyses he's made about girls in his different classes. And if she was in his Health class, he's sure she would have made some sort of impression. "Oh yeah, right. Anythin' I c'n do for you, Seline?" Wally started politely, sliding his hands into his sweatshirt pocket.

Usually he'd be either be shoving his confidence in their face or teasing them, but this girl seemed nervous enough. He got these girls every now and again, the girls who were silent and stayed in the back, watching him from the corner of their eyes. The ones that were earnestly sweet and shy, not the ones who just acted that way because they were outside their usual posse.

"Well… I- um… I wanted– well I was wondering if you wanted to– would like to um–" the girl stumbled out. Her eyes flew up, but past Wally. Wally didn't turn though. If she knew he knew her friends were cheerleading for her behind his back, she'd run for it. If he's learned anything in his years of high school, at least give them the satisfaction that they asked and got the words out.

"Alright, alright. Slow down Seline. Just go ahead and say it," Wally said kindly, leaning back a bit to give her room.

Seline closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath before pushing the words out of her mouth. "Wally I was wondering if you wanted to go–!"

"Hey, bro, there you are." Wally stumbled after a body suddenly hooked around his neck and waist. "I was lookin' for you." Great… Lucas. Of all the times he could have shown up, he chose now. He felt Lucas's head push past his as Lucas got a better look at Seline. Seline looked like Lucas was sliding his hands up her body instead of just his eyes. "She's cute. You should bring her to the party next week. The guys and I have been looking for a new _friend_."

"Shut up!" Wally grumbled to his friend. He knew Lucas had a tendency to cross the line, but he usually had _some_ sort of filter.

"You- you're having a party Wally?" Seline asked shyly.

Wally was about to tell her Lucas was just talking out his ass, but then…

Lucas hopped off of Wally's back and walked towards Seline. "Yeah. Me and Wally. At my house next Thursday. Whatduyuh think cutiepie?"

Seline blushed up to her ears once she caught the meaning of Lucas's proposal. She looked past Lucas to Wally who had a grim and concerned expression, then to her friends who were just as stunned as she was.

"Lucas!" Wally hissed warningly, trying to get a handle on the situation. But he knew the smile that was spreading across his friend's face. Lucas knew he had planted a seed in the girl's head, and wasn't going to let go until he either had her or she got away.

Lucas's smile changed again, to something more charming and seductive. Wally bristled. The girl probably wasn't even fifteen yet. When Lucas touched the girl's chin, Wally's jaw tensed, desperately trying to control himself.

"Well?"

He couldn't go against Lucas when he was like this, not without isolating himself for a week at the least, and he didn't want that. He just needed a good reason… any reason to-

"Seline. I was been looking for you." A hand appeared on Seline's shoulder and Seline stiffened, pulling away from Lucas's gaze.

Lucas straightened up, pulling away from Seline's curious eyes. "You know this trick, Uno?"

Behind Seline, Nigel stood tall and proud, his eyes on Lucas. Seline just blushed from being called a trick by an older boy. "Yes. She's a friend of mine."

Wally puffed out his chest. He knew that expression. Even though you couldn't see Nigel's eyes, Wally had known the guy long enough to understand the expression. He was protecting the girl from what he considered trash. Wally was against Lucas's actions, but if Nigel was involved, he backed his friend 100%. "Cute friend. Finally let'n your eyes wander Nigel?" Wally said curtly with a smirk.

Nigel's eyebrows dipped further behind his sunglasses. "Just a friend Wallabee. Something you clearly don't have any taste in," Nigel shot back, leading a remorseful Seline away from the two lowlifes.

"Puh!" Wally shot with a distasteful sneer, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Come back any time cutie-pie. Don't let that stick in the mud ruin the fun!" Lucas shouted with a grin and a wink. Seline looked back at him with a blush, but her friends raced to her side to lead her in the right direction: away from Lucas.

Nigel looked back as well, but not with blushing cheeks and shy eyes. His eyes were full of disdain, his mouth a solid line. Wally met the gaze easily with a glare of his own, challenging Nigel. He had beat him in a fight once before, and he'd do it again. Even if he didn't want to.

Wally was the first to break the stare down as he turned away in disgust and irritation, shoving his hands back into his pockets. Nigel looked away right after, his hand still on Seline's back.

"Can you believe that nerd?" Lucas started cruelly, walking smugly next to Wally. "_She's just a friend of mine_. Ha! Someone's a little territorial." Wally only met his teasing with silence, so Lucas placed his hands behind his head and continued. "But she'll be back. Ain't nothin' Uno can do to keep that little bird's curiosity at bay. Cute though right?"

Wally stopped once he reached the safety of the hallway. "What's 'er name Lucas?"

Lucas stopped, confused by his friend's cold tone. "Huh?"

Wally kept his head down, his bangs covering his eyes. "What's the sheila's name?"

Lucas sneered and shrugged. "Hell if I know."

Wally laughed cruelly. "You're one bloody bludger, yuh know that Lucas meh bloke?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow at his friend's foreign words. "Huh?"

Lucas didn't even see the punch until he was on his ass. "The hell was that for Beatles!"

"Yur turnin' into one hell of a root rat Luc's. One 'ell of a root rat." Wally leaned down and grabbed Lucas by the collar. "When I say knock it off, yuh knock it off. Got it _mate_?" Wally growled.

Lucas grit his teeth and pushed Wally away. "Yeah yeah you're the boss."

"Yuh bloody dill," Wally grumbled as he offered his friend a hand.

"Seline, what were you _doing_ talking to Wallabee Beatles anyway?" Nigel asked gently.

Seline looked down at her feet as she walked besides Nigel, still blushing up to her ears.

"She was gonna ask him out on a date!" one of her friends blurted out.

"Jennifer!" Seline cried out in horror.

Nigel groaned and pressed his thumb and forefinger to his eyes. "Just don't tell your cousin. She'll kill us both."

Seline pouted, silent for a moment. "I doubt he would have even said yes…"

"We _tried_ to tell you Lucas was coming you know," another friend chimed in out of nowhere.

"If you didn't notice I was kind of preoccupied!" Seline shot back. Her friend paused, clearly shocked by her friend's outburst. Even Nigel was shocked. Seline wasn't known for angry outbursts. Her voice was rarely just above a whisper. "I- I'm sorry…" Seline uttered, a bit more like her usual, sweet self.

"Sorry…" her friend murmured in response, shamefaced.

"Seline!" Nigel heard just ahead of him. He smiled as he saw Rachel run towards him. "Oh good. I was looking for you." She stopped and smiled at Nigel. "Where did you find her?"

Nigel felt Seline's nervous gaze on him, and saw that Rachel noticed it too. "She was just… talking to someone."

Rachel raised an eyebrow, but let it go to sneer teasingly at her cousin. "Not a _boy_ I hope. Our moms would have a _fit_."

Seline squirmed uncomfortably. "Mom said that you shouldn't tease me about boys…" she said sweetly.

Rachel giggled and smiled kindly, gently petting her short cousin's head. "I'm just kidding. I just wanted to tell you that Aunty said it was ok for you to stay at Jennifer's house tonight. Just make sure you pick up your stuff first."

"Oh," Seline said, looking a bit confused. "I didn't-"

Rachel smiled proudly. "I know you didn't think she'd say yes, but I convinced her for you." Rachel winked at her younger cousin.

"Thanks Rachel!" Jennifer said happily, then looked at her friend with a grin. "_See!_ I _told_ you it'd be fine! C'mon. Let's go tell Alice!" Jennifer grabbed Seline's wrist and began to run with her, but then turned to wave excitedly. "Bye Rachel! Bye Nigel! Thank you!"

Even Seline gave her cousin a small smile and wave good bye. Rachel smiled cutely and waved to the group of girls. "It wasn't any of the cheerleaders, was it?" Rachel said sternly as she kindly waved to her cousins group of friends.

Nigel wasn't as discreet through. His smile faded quickly. "No, it wasn't."

Rachel sighed and leaned back against the locker, clearly relieved. "Good. That's the _last_ thing I want on my plate…"

Nigel smiled at her sympathetically. "Seline's a good kid. I doubt she's even a name on their list."

Rachel looked up at the ceiling, obviously anxious. "I hope not… I'd rather not make an enemy of my cousin." She sighed and lowered her head. "I hate this time of year, when everyone starts recruiting. The kids start turning into brats and the teens all turn hostile towards everyone who's not in the brigade…" Rachel lowered her head, and then kicked the lockers behind her.

Nigel gave her a second, to see if she'd continue, but she didn't. That was never good. If Rachel wasn't talking, she was thinking too much. She was worrying too much.

Nigel gently took her hand in his, and looked at her seriously. "It'll all work out. We've gotten this far without them. We can go through the next two years without them messing with us. We do what we've always done, keep our eyes forward and keep moving forward."

Rachel sighed and looked to the side. "They've already started nipping at our ankles."

Nigel's eyebrows furrowed in determination.

He knew what he was up against. He knew he was in the same grade as the current Teen's Brigade leader. They would be running against each other when elections came around. And the Brigade leader always won. While the Brigade only made up 10% of the school –if that –there was a reason the Brigade leader was the leader. People just liked him, and the Brigade was loyal to him. They threw parties where your ticket in was your sworn oath that you would vote for him come May.

Lately, rumors have been going around about Nigel: that he was a kid-sympathizer. Why? He did community service at the elementary school and the kids didn't call him a "cruddy teen" behind his back. They legitimately liked him, which means he was nice to them –which he was –which turned most of the Brigade against him. And when the Brigade was against you, a lot of doors were shut.

A smile appeared on his lips. "Then we walk faster."

His reassurance seemed to work on Rachel. All the worry on her face immediately evaporated. His smile changed a bit, glad that Rachel wasn't as worried anymore. He liked her more was she was like this… sure he loved that she was determined and driven and took everything into account, but it always made him happy that he could calm her nerves. He never saw her make this cute expression of belief with anyone else. It was something that made him… happy, and oddly nostalgic. The face that told him that everyone knew everything would work out, because he said it would.

An expression of trust. Of belief.

On any other person it made him proud.

On Rachel… it was oddly intoxicating.

"Um… Nigel?" Rachel uttered, pulling Nigel from his thoughts. Were her cheeks always that pink? "Can… I… have my hand back?"

Nigel blushed deep red and let her go briskly. "Oh, um… ahem. Sorry about that." Nigel breathed a laugh and scratched the back of his head. "I guess I got a little carried away, that's all."

Rachel smiled at him sweetly. _Sure_, she thought. _You just got a little carried away._

* * *

**A/N: **Next chapter will still be during lunch with Kuki and her friend since I haven't introduced her other than in text (honestly I don't even remember her name). After that chapter we're going to go back to Wally, Kuki, and Joey because honestly I love those three. x)


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **DON'T KILL ME! LOOK! i WAS GOOD AND UPLOADED STUFFS! I even put a hint into future drama that's going to happen. This chapter I'm reintroducing Kuki's friend Emily. I'm not expecting you guys to like her very much... (Jesus I need to give these guys likable friends...) but she'll be of mild importance later on. As will Lucas... although he'll be more important than she will.

Anyhow, this chapter basically revolves around Kuki and how she looks at Wally. SORRY GUYS, NO ROMANTIC FEELS YET! But it's coming... it's coming... although Wally's will come faster *cough* *cough*

So I hope you guys enjoy the chapter... and don't hate me forever for making you wait. I've just had a lot going on and writing Emily proved more difficult than I thought it would be...

* * *

**Chapter 17**

_Wednesday, January 22_

_Lunch_

"I still don't see _why _you agreed to tutor that jerk!" Emily commented, crossing her arms and leaning back against her chair.

Emily and Kuki were out in the school's patio outside the cafeteria. The school had somehow found the funds to buy them little tables and chairs, and Emily loved to eat at the tables. Kuki suspected it made her feel important, like they were part of some exclusive group. They weren't really, Kuki didn't consider herself to be very special, but she never said anything to Emily. There was no reason to burst her bubble.

Kuki shrugged and took a sip of her juice box. "I don't see why I should turn him down. Wally needs help."

"So do psychos but you shouldn't go around trying to help them!" Emily countered, throwing up her arms in exasperation.

"Well…" Kuki started.

"Ugh!" Emily laid back against her seat in annoyance. "Dear god you'd think you'd have no sense of self preservation…"

Kuki pouted. "I don't think this is a case of life and death Emily…"

"Well, maybe not life and death, but he **is** dangerous. Him and his friend… what's-his-name…"

"Lucas."

"Yeah him!" Emily popped a chip into her mouth. "He 'n Wally… 'r nothing but… trouble," she said between bites.

"Wally's not so bad… but Lucas does give me the creeps…" Kuki admitted guiltily, rubbing her arm.

"He should! Oh my god! He's the biggest creep!" Emily shouted before whipping out her phone. "Oh, and just to prove my point!" Emily shoved her phone in Kuki's face to show her a text.

_O EM G! Just saw Lucas flirting with a soph! Totally gross! He even asked her to his house! _

"Totally gross," Emily repeated, pulling her phone back and taking a sip of her soda. "Not exactly the best company to keep if you ask me."

Kuki shook her head. "Wait, what does this have to do with me tutoring Wally?"

Emily paused. "Well…I… he… he could try to flirt with you while you guys are studying or something! And it's not like you've ever been with a guy…"

Kuki rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. "I'm tutoring him in the school library, not at home Emily. There aren't many things you can do in a library you know."

"There are _plenty _of things you can do in a library…" Emily said deviously.

"Emily!" Kuki cried, playfully scandalized.

Emily took a sip from her soda and looked away with faux innocence, making Kuki laugh before Emily started laughing with her.

"Emily that's horrible!" Kuki accused with a smile.

Emily snickered and they both giggled girlishly. "You're too sweet for a Junior, you know that Kuks?" she teased

"Pfft. And _you're_ too horrible for a sixteen year old!" Her friend rolled her eyes, the playfulness leaving her eyes. Kuki bit her inner lip, clearly regretting her choice of words and tone. She knew her friend wasn't… sensitive, but some things just got under her skin. Kuki always had to be a little… delicate with her. Which was hard to do at times because her brunnette friend didn't share in her delicacy.

But after a few seconds, Emily turned back to Kuki and smiled before popping another chip into her mouth. Kuki couldn't do anything else but return the smile.

_Library_

"UGH!" Wally groaned, loud and angry enough that everyone in the library glared at the muscled blond. "Aren't you supposed to be making this junk easier?!"

Kuki sighed and combed her hair out of her face. "I'm trying," she whined. She couldn't help but feel a little frustrated that she couldn't explain how to group together polynomials. Well, she could, but clearly not in a way that he could understand it.

Wally groaned again and let his head slam down on the desk. "You're speaking in Japanese ain't yuh?" he accused, his voice muffled between his lips and the desk.

Kuki sighed and propped her head up on her elbows. "No, I'm speaking in English."

Wally just groaned in frustration again. Kuki pouted as her shoulder slumped forward in a moment of resignation. She hadn't expected this sort of problem from him. She had thought that getting him to work would be the hard part, but once she pointed out that they should get to work, he was surprisingly compliant –although he admitted he didn't have his algebra textbook or his school ID with him so she had to borrow a copy from the library under her name. He did exceed her expectations at first. From all of the complaining all of his other tutors did, she thought he would just sit there staring at a problem until he fell asleep. But actually, he worked pretty well, just pausing every now and again because of a wrong answer or a loss of concentration… until he hit a problem he couldn't understand. Then everything came to a stop for the next fifteen minutes.

Kuki felt the floor vibrating and looked down to see Wally's leg bouncing rapidly, his forehead still pressed against the desk. Kuki smiled warmly and placed her hand on his shoulder. Wally's leg slowly stopped shaking and he turned his head to the side to look at her through his lashes, gravity pulling his bangs away from his eyes blond lock by blond lock. Kuki blushed from the softness in his eyes, and the blush only worsened when she realized his eyes were blue.

But she didn't dwell on it. She smiled sweetly, trying to coax him into reassurance. "C'mon, we'll just keep working on this, OK?"

A smirk appeared on his mouth as he laughed through his nose, and then rested his chin on top of crossed arms, looking forward at nothing in particular. He seemed to be thinking about something, so Kuki just waited for him to finished with her hands in her lap, swinging her feet above the floor.

After a minute he straightened up and stretched out. "Awright then. Time to get back to work then."

Kuki smiled wider, causing Wally to blush. She really didn't have to look so happy about it… it wasn't _that_ big of a deal.

Kuki pulled the algebra book back to Wally, "So, back to that problem…" Wally moaned softly, obviously unhappy about the turn of the conversation. To be honest, Kuki couldn't help but smile.

Lucas was already leaning against a pole outside of the library when the bell rang, waiting for Wally to walk out. Usually, he'd be the first one out. They'd fist bump, screw around a bit, and get the hell out of this zoo of bullshit.

But he seemed to be keeping him waiting again. Lucas just snickered. He was probably just still pissed at him for his little… indiscretion during lunch and making him waste his time. He was probably just taking his fucking sweet little time putting his shit away. Then again, what kind of shit would he have taken out of his backpack. Lucas heard the whispers –not that people cared whether he heard them or not –so he knew how Beatles acted in that room. Just like Lucas, a lazy motherfucker who didn't take any shit from anyone. No one was about to tell his friend what to do.

That's what he liked about Wally, he just didn't take any shit anyone threw at him. He was just him, and he took Lucas the same way… even if Lucas left a sour taste in his mouth, Wally kept him around. It was nice knowing that he had someone by his side…

Lucas sighed with a smirk. Wally sure was dragging this out. In fact, he was probably waiting for Lucas to come in and get him, but the hell Lucas was going in _there_. Especially with the _nerds_ already walking in, sending him glares from the corner of their eyes. He wondered who it was worse for, him or Wally –who was undoubtedly getting looks from people wondering what the fuck he was doing in the _library_.

He chuckled and walked away from the entrance of the library, deciding to wait out the son of a bitch. With a smirk on his face he rounded the library, planning to walk back to see Wally… but he saw him sooner than he thought he would. With that Asian chick from before. The smart one –like that narrowed it down, it seemed like they were all nerds –who always wore green. He'd never heard her talk though. But now he was seeing her smile, and laugh, probably chatting Wally's ear off with some useless crap. Maybe about some book with some useless plot.

Lucas's smirk turned feral as he stalked towards them, planning on humiliating the hell out of her and making Wally laugh in the process. Just a chuckle would do. Just a smirk would send her running.

But before he could reach them, the mob reached him, and blocked his access. He could see Wally's blond hair, but he knew he was losing them. He tried to squeeze through the crowd to reach them, but people kept shoving him back and freaking groups wouldn't separate. Finally he lost all of his patience and cool and just shoved a couple apart.

"Hey! What's your problem man?" some girl shouted. Lucas looked back and saw it was Abigail Lincoln, but didn't bother to make a snarky comment. But even with that sacrifice, when he turned back around, he'd lost them both.

Suddenly, he was being shoved around by the people he had shoved aside before… and he faced them all alone.

He saw Abigail Lincoln walking towards him, staring at him, glaring at him, her boyfriend Hank chatting away pleasantly. Lucas narrowed his eyes at her, waiting to see what her move was. Some other kids pushed their shoulders against his elbows, but he paid them no mind. He just watched her step closer to him, but once she was two steps away, she just turned to her boyfriend and replied to some comment that made her smile… and just stepped around him without looking him in the eye.

The red head just pulled his hat down a bit, hunched his shoulders, and walked against the crowd, keeping his elbows in. But despite all the shoulders pushing him around, he stayed right in the middle of the crowd. Because while people were bumping him, he was bumping them right back.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

_Wednesday, January 22_

_Right after school_

Wally smiled as he watched Kuki laughed uncontrollably underneath her hand as they walked. They had just started sharing jokes with each other, Wally had told a rather risky one, where a lizard and a koala went to go smoke a joint, the lizard went to get a drink of water, fell in the river, was saved by the crocodile, and when the crocodile went to go check on the koala, the koala thought it was the lizard. Some part of him felt like it would be a too much for her –with the reference to drugs and all that –but it was the best joke he knew… and she stilled seemed to be enjoying it.

After a few moments, Kuki had caught her breath. "Alright, alright I have one." She chuckled again –Wally presumed at her own joke… or possibly his again –and then took a deep breath to calm herself. "Alright, so a biology teacher is lecturing her students and asks a girl named Alexis 'What part of the body grows ten times larger when a person is excited?' Alexis blushes and says she doesn't know. So the boy next to her raises his hand and answers with the pupil. The teacher says he's correct and turns back to Alexis and" Kuki paused and held back a giggle "and says 'I have three things to say to you. One, you have a very dirty mind. Two, you need to study more. And three… you are going to be very disappointed.' " And with that Kuki just started laughing at her own joke.

Wally looked at her in shock, surprised by how… dirty the joke was. He had only known her to be an innocent nerd or whatever… sure that definitely wasn't the "worst" joke he's ever heard, but it shocked him a bit. But pleasantly so… and he couldn't help but smile and laugh with her… and keep laughing with her until they were doubling over at a joke that under usual circumstances shouldn't have been this funny. But they couldn't seem to stop laughing. The sound of the other's laughter seemed to echo off of the other, creating an endless cycle of laughter, earning strange looks from people who happened to pass by the strange scene. Noticing the strangers staring at them, Wally tried his best to stop laughing, but Kuki didn't. She continued to laugh like a small child, which kept a warm smile on Wally's face. Admittedly, she had a nice laugh; it was girly and high pitched but not annoyingly so.

When she noticed that he wasn't laughing, Kuki finally started to calm down, taking deep breathes which usually ended in another giggle.

"Gonna be ok Kuks?" he asked with a smirk, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Kuki nodded, still snickering a little under her hand. "Yeah… I'll be fine. I just need a second to-"

Behind them, a car horn went off twice, forcing Wally to turn sharply, a glare for the honker already in place.

"Shoot!" Kuki mumbled, her mouth flying to her mouth in worry. "I forgot." Wally furrowed his brow at her, then paid more attention to the cars coming towards them. One seemed familiar, a silver Lincoln MKZ –not Wally's favorite car, but obviously the tall poppies in the area have taken a liking to it –with all tinted windows pulled up next to them. By Kuki's anxious expression, she obviously knew the owner and wasn't happy they found her.

Wally watched defensively as the passenger window lowered, his confused and guarded expression replaced by Mrs. Sanban's neutral face –jeez, did her face even move? "Forget about something Kuki?" her mother asked in a monotone voice.

"I know, I know," Kuki replied in a rush, opening the passenger door and throwing her back on the floor. Wally watched silently, curious about what was going on.

Before Kuki got into the car she seemed to notice he was still there. "Oh, I have ballet practice after school today. I'm sorry, I completely forgot." Kuki bit her lip and looked back at her mom who simply shrugged. Kuki seemed to relax after that.

Wally wasn't sure whether he was talking to her or to her mom, but he decided to respond anyway. "'S awright. No reason tuh spit the dummy." Wally flinched and pushed his hands back into his pockets. He had a tendency to default back to his Australian language when he was nervous, and he was pretty sure Kuki would have no idea what spit the dummy meant. "Uh… no reason to get upset over it. We can walk together some other time."

Kuki simply smiled happily and nodded. "Sounds great." Kuki shut the car door and waved to Wally through the open window. "See you tomorrow!"

Wally took one hand out of his sweatshirt pocket to give her a single wave as the car began to pull away. "Yeeah. See you tomorrow." The hand went right back into his pocket once the car pulled away.

The muscled teen heaved a sigh and blew it up so that it moved his bangs out of his eyes. He couldn't help but tap his foot tensely. Well, there went that plan. He'd asked to walk her home so that he could ask her to help him with the whole… equations thing… but clearly that wasn't happening. He didn't want to stay in the library because he didn't want to be watched… but now-

"Hey buddy!" a voice said behind him, suddenly wrapping their arms around his shoulder. Wally stumbled under the extra weight, but couldn't help but smile.

"Ey! Lay off the milkshakes will yuh mate? You're getting heavy," Wally commented with a smirk in Hank's direction. His friend merely rolled his eyes with his own playful smirk, wrapping his legs around Wally's lithe waist to make sure he was on securely. Wally looked behind him, finding the person he expected to be with them. "'N you. Aren't you supposed tuh be keepin' this guy on a leash now adays?"

Abby chuckled and shook her head at the two supposed young adults, arms crossed as she approached them at her own pace. "Can only deny his pleasures for so long. He's funner when 'e's… free ranged anyways." Abby went up on her toes and pulled Hank's face closer to hers in order to plant a sweet kiss on his cheek. Hank responded with a kiss to her forehead, a romantic look in his eyes.

Wally grimaced, uncomfortable with the change in mood. "Awww c'mon. If you're gonna get all coupley, don' do it when you're on my back," Wally argued, pushing Hank's arms off of his shoulders.

Hank fell to the ground easily, immediately placing one arm around Abby's shoulder who automatically took his lax hand in hers. Figures, they've only been together for a few months and they already fit together like a glove. "Aww don't get jealous Wally. C'mere I'll give you some sugar too," Abby said playfully, opening her arms for Wally and walking towards him, lips puckered like the aunt Wally was kind of glad he never had.

"Hank! Tell yer girl to stand down!" Wally laughed, gently pushing Abby away just enough that she couldn't kiss his cheek. But Hank didn't seem at all interested in helping his friend in distress, he just watched, amused by his friends' antics.

Hank rarely saw Wally anymore, with their groups being so different –or rather with Hank's group disliking Lucas so much –he didn't spend much time with him. And he missed him, and he knew Abby worried about Wally constantly. And even if Nigel didn't… Hank wanted his friends to create more memories together. That would make him happy.

"C'mon you two," Hank started, wrapping his arms around two of his favorite people. "Cut it out and I'll treat you guys to some ice cream."

"With what money exactly?" Abby pointed out, a knowing smirk already in place. "You spent it all on that new program you got." As if on cue, both boys looked at Abby with puppy dog eyes, lips trembling. Abby glared at them and shook her head resolutely. "Uh-uh. I'm not paying for your food." The puppy dog eyes continued, their eyes becoming more glossy as fake tears started to form. Abby couldn't help but shake her head and smile, a movement that drove the begging boys to double their efforts, their eyes bulging. "Fine. But you're not getting any floats."

Wally rolled his eyes, knowing the warning was aimed at him. He was going to ask for one anyway. As if reading his mind, Abby playfully swatted the back of Wally's head with a cool, knowing smile before placing her hand on his shoulder. Wally just chuckled and wrapped one arm around Hank's shoulders.

"To the ice cream parlor!" Hank announced loudly, pointing towards the sky dramatically.

"Hey Babeh?"

"Hm?"

"The ice cream parlor's that way."

Wally snickered and shook his head as Abby waited to see how her honey would correct himself. "About-face!" Hank shouted

The group skillfully turned backwards without needing to release one another, and walked down the sidewalk, taking ridiculously large steps from one side to the other. Because that's what friends did when they were happy together.

* * *

**A/N:** I know I know. took me forever. But unfortunately I have too many distractions and I don't have headphones to block out sounds that continue to distract me. And then I found tumblr which is creating more distractions. So yeah. I'm not thrilled about how this chapter came out, it was kind of thrown together. I thought it was going to be longer but I don't know, it just turned out short. I just wanted this to be a fluff chapter between Wally and... everyone else except Nigel which will not be explained for now.

The next chapter is going to have everyone except Kuki (so 1,2,4,5, and 362) since she has stuff to do but she'll be coming back right after. We will get to see how the group is reacting to the whole split between Wally and Nigel so that should be interesting. I may even make them talk to each other, although I'm sorry guys it won't be a pleasant conversation. Since I realize Valentine's day is coming up (in the story) I'm going to have to speed things up with Kuki and Wally.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **YAY! An update that didn't take a whole month! Sorry about lagging so much guys, I promise I'll get better during summer... with this story at least. I'm having problems writing batman at the moment. Not sure why... I blame the nolanverse information mixing with the TAS information. **B****ut** you guys probably don't care for that.

I told people I was updating on Sunday or Monday, but this chapter turned out a lot longer than I planned... plus I had to stop writing the end for a bit since oh GOD! I'm so sorry guys. So this is _mostly_ going to be some 2,4,5 fluff, very little plot movement other than the whole Wally/Nigel confrontation. I'm still not explaining what happened there, but soon I will (not really, I plan on dragging this out for you guys and torturing you all because I'm a sadist and you're all masochists DON'T LIE YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE!).

Someone also complained about Kuki being separate from the group and honestly, I have no real direct reason for that other than her focusing on school and her mom not letting her have a phone. I do feel bad about pushing her aside, and I'll try to include her more but Wally is going to be the primary focus for this story.

So enough of my blabbering, enjoy some quality friend time.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

_Wednesday, January 22_

_after school (4 pm-ish)_

"Boy, what did I say? What was the _first_ thing I told you when I said I'd buy you a shake?"Abby demanded, shaking her head and wagging her index finger to emphasize her point. Jeez. This guy just never learned.

Wally slurped from his straw innocently, then shrugged. "You said that you'd buy us some ice cream." The blond immediately placed his lips around the straw again and sucked cold, sweet liquid into his mouth.

"Mmmhmmm… what else did I say, huh?" Abby asked, placing her arm on the table and leaning forward. "Somethin' along the lines uh' _no floats_ if I remember correctly."

Wally feigned thought, looking up at the ceiling as he continued to suck on the straw. Before he began to speak the defiant teen smacked his lips as he enjoyed the taste in his mouth. Abby's eyebrow went up maleficently, but Wally disregarded it. "I guess there was the _choose any flavor you want boys_ comment when we walked in…"

Abby chuckled and rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger, clearly amused by her friend's attempts at staying out of trouble. She crossed her fingers together and rested her cheek on the back of her hands to look back at her boyfriend and shake her head. Hank –innocently enjoying his vanilla and snickers ice cream –shared her amused expression and shrugged his shoulders. They both knew there was nothing either of them could say that would truly convict him.

"I don' see vanilla coke listed on those ice cream flavors over there," Abby argued calmly.

Wally, curious to see how far he could push this, simply inspected his cup thoroughly, scrutinizing over its contents. Abby just watched him, shaking her head and trying not to laugh. Hank made no such attempts, and laughed openly. Finally, Wally just shrugged. "Must 'uh forgot to list it. Because this is definitely a vanilla coke flavored ice cream." Wally sucked on the straw again, lounging on his side of the booth with his arm extended, a small smirk on his face.

"Not a float?"

"Nope." Wally shook his head suavely to emphasize his point.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Look, it's cold ain't it?"

Abby couldn't help but chuckle incredulously and looked at her boyfriend again. Hank simply shrugged, spoon resting in his mouth as he sucked on it. "Cold _is_ a key trait of ice cream."

"Straight from the horse's mouth," Wally agreed victoriously, raising his plastic cup in toast. Hank laughed and gladly tapped his paper cup against Wally's float–erm… ice cream…

"Uh-uh. Sweet heart, I _know_ my ice cream. And that ain't ice cream," Abby accused, dipping her spoon into her vanilla. "Ice cream is creamy, soft, sweet and when it hits your tongue _oooh…_ it's like a cool blanket of lightning waking up your taste buds and giving you a reason to be _alive_…" Abby, unable to postpone her joy any longer pushed the spoon of heavenly joy into her mouth and shivered happily. "Mmmm-_**m**_! Never gets old!" Abby couldn't help but eagerly stick another spoon full of ice cream into her mouth, a huge smile on her face.

Wally and Hank looked at each other and smiled. Abby was just… Abby. She never changed. Some people snickered at her love of all things sugar, but to them, it was endearing to say the least. She was the boss, she was the strong one, she was the most mature of them all… but when it came to sugar she was so child-like. She was so happy just from a couple of spoonfuls of ice cream that she fell back against Hank's chest and rolled against it happily, forcing a loving chuckle from the love struck teen and a friendly snicker from their friend.

But in all honesty, the two boys weren't completely sure where all that happiness came from. They didn't know why their hearts swelled and their smiles fell away for just a second, before being replaced with brighter ones that came with careless laughter and heavy hearts. They didn't notice how Abby kept her eyes closed for a just a moment longer, pulling her legs up onto the booth's cushion. How her smile fell away as well, then changed to an old, cool smirk. The two boys hadn't notice their hearts swell, but Abby did. Abby felt her heart fill her chest to the point where she felt like it would pop through her chest and suffocate her, before it dropped into her stomach. Just these moments, with her boys laughing joyously… but deeper than she always heard them.

Trying to move past it –like she always did –Abby pushed her hand into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with machine print on it, pushing it towards Wally with a victorious smirk. "Well, obviously this place calls that little _dessert_ of yours, a _float_. That costs four dollars."

Wally looked at the receipt, and then laid his head back on the booth seat and groaned in defeat. "Dammit... You got anything Hank?"

Abby's eyes slid towards Hank, playfully daring him. But Hank's hands were raised in surrender. "Sorry man." Hank's arms came back down, one resting behind Abby, the other dipping his spoon into his ice cream again. "Can't argue with computer outputs."

Wally let out another deep groan in frustration before his head rebounded into its rightful position. "Alright. I'll… pay you back tomorrow o' sumthin'…" he agreed with a bit of playful resentment, looking out the window.

Abby simply chuckled and shrugged, resting against Hank's chest. "Hey, don't worry about it. If I started countin how much you owed me I'd probably own a house by now."

Abby's –slight –over exaggeration earned a snicker from the defiant teen, which Abby replied to by smacking him with her hat. "Ey! Gonna make me drop my float!"

"Oh please," Hank retorted. "You'd throw your phone down a cliff before you dropped your float."

Wally looked like he would argue, but then shrugged and continued to lightly sip on his float.

"Um… Wally?" whimpered a girl from the booth next to them. Wally turned to face her with a confused look on his face, but then he turned on the charm. Abby rolled her eyes and Hank sighed as he shook his head.

The girl immediately started to blush and simply looked down. She was cute, clearly a little younger than the rest of them, but that might have just been because she looked so shy and nervous. She had her hair shoulder length, kept out of her face with a faded red plastic headband –unusual for a high school student. "My food came with some fries and… well… I don't think I'm going to… you know… eat them so I was wondering if you wanted them…" The girl looked up at him through her lashes, biting her lip nervously.

Wally's smile deteriorated as she spoke, but then reappeared when she looked at him again. "Thanks. I really appreciate it," he said innocently, glancing back at his friends. Abby sighed inwardly. She knew he was only behaving himself on her account. If he were alone, he probably would have complimented her sweet nature and sent her off with a wink. Maybe even a strip of paper with his phone number, already premade in his backpack. But, neither she nor Hank could think less of him. He was their friend.

Abby looked down and saw that Hank had his phone out under the table. _Do you know her? _He didn't bother hiding it, so Abby could see it was being sent to Wally.

Wally, who was already munching on his fries pulled his phone out from his pocket, looked up at Hank and shrugged. Hank shrugged back in response as Abby slowly ate her ice cream. She then noticed Wally doing something… weird. He was taking the top off his float, and then proceeded to pick up a fry and-

"Boy, what are you doing?" Abby shot, forcing Wally to stop in the midst of dipping his fry into his float.

Hank reached over and picked up a fry from Wally's tray. "Something possibly genius," Hank responded, dipping his fry into his ice cream.

Abby recoiled in disgust. "Did you just dip a _salty_ fry into _sweet _ice cream?"

"Huh… pretty good," Hank commented thoughtfully after a few seconds of chewing.

"I bet I could top it." Wally picked up a fry and dipped it into his float, making Abby gag aloud. "Eh, not as good as with ice cream," Wally said with a shrug, still chewing on the fry.

"I didn't think it would be," Hank agreed seriously, picking up two more fries which he –to Abby's horror –dipped in his ice cream. "It's better in a shake though."

"That! Is amazing. 'specially with vanilla. I don't know, strawberry 'n chocolate don't work as well with fries." Wally looked at Abby, a couple of fries in his hand. He smiled meekly, holding up his two fries. "Would you mind? You're the only one with vanilla here."

Abby looked at Hank who had a pleading look as well. Abby shook her head ardently. "No! Noo way! Keep your craziness out of my ice cream!"

Hank rolled his eyes. "C'mon Abby."

"Yeeah c'mon. I promise you'll be rapt."

"Uh-uh. What are you two thinkin! Mixin the saltiness and the crunchiness with the creaminess and the smoothness and the sweetness 'n the oiliness… ohh no way. I won' do it." Hank chuckled and kissed her head sweetly. Abby immediately pulled away "Aww no. Don't you get all kissy with me, honey. You're not getting your fries in my _ice cream_. Even worse-" Abby stopped cold as she heard the bell to the parlor ring and she saw who was coming in.

Oh not today… not today.

Wally obviously caught Hank and Abby's nervous glances and looked behind him, then immediately turned around. Maybe he should have walked with Lucas after all. Behind him, an old friend was chatting up a cute blond sheila. Wally slowly turned back around and couldn't help but narrow his eyes as the rest of his body tensed, his blood getting ready for a fight if that's what it came down to. His chest began to puff up threateningly, confidently as his lax hand tensed on top of the booth cushion. Wally's lip quickly began to curl as he thought about what would happen next.

It bothered him, bothered the hell out of him, the way baldy just ignored his very existence. Maybe it was the fact that he had been in such a good mood and Nigel had ruined the very air he breathed, maybe it was the subconscious smile from before that drove home that need to be recognized… but either way he wasn't about to be ignored again.

But despite being all talk, Wally intuitively looked back at Abby. He knew her stance on the matter, even before she shook her head. Wally's eyes dropped down, and his muscles deflated. He glanced up again, and Hank had the same melancholy expression he always wore when he was placed in this sort of situation –talking with one of them when the other passed by. It tortured them, all of them. Except of course the asshole who was walking towards them.

All happiness forgotten, Wally crossed his legs towards the window, resting his cheek on his arm propped up against the windowpane. He focused his eyes on the scene past the window, but as the show pony came into view, he couldn't help but focus on the reflection.

"Hey guys!" greeted the blond excitedly, her eyes flickering to Wally curiously. Perhaps she decided it wasn't worth her energy, or maybe she knew who he was, but her eyes didn't linger on him long.

"Hey Rachel, ey Nigel, how've you guys been doing?" Abby asked politely, her body much more relaxed than Wally's. _She _still seemed welcoming, but what could Wally expect, they were her friends too.

"We've been doing very well actually," Nigel responded casually, leaning on the corner of Wally's booth, eyes focused on Abby and Hank. He felt himself bristling, but forced himself to calm down, for Hank and Abby's sake if nothing else. "Rachel and I were just talking to the councilors. We managed to keep a few extra summer classes on the roster. We had to give up a bit of our funds, but nothing too serious."

The girl, Rachel apparently, wrapped her arms around his. The dipstick's face turned red almost immediately, clearly shocked by the girl's actions and completely incapable of keeping his cool. Wally smirked, and apparently the dipstick was watching him. The show pony was a good speaker, but a horrible actor who couldn't help but send Wally a poisonous look. But all he managed to do was make the malevolent teen's smirk widen. "You should have seen him, he handled the councilors like a pro!" Wally almost gagged.

"Well, gotta learn how tuh handle the staff if you're gonna be class president next year!"

Senior class president… the one thing he always wanted…

"heh… that's the least of my worries. I still have the competition to worry about," Nigel said innocently, unable to stop his blush. At least _Rachel_ seemed to be having a field day with it. Too bad he'd never make an actual move. By the looks of him, he was as bad as ever with the opposite sex. How pathetic. Over three years of practice and still a no-hoper with the ladies.

_Look mate, all you gotta do, is go over there and talk to 'er. It ain't hard._

_Says you. You do it all the time._

_Eh. Gotta put those four extra inches to work somehow. Guess it was only the height that kept the ladies away._

_Oh yeah. And not you flashing your muscles every second._

Wally shut his eyes. No, no. Stop.

_Ey ey! Lay off mate, they came back didn't they. Look, I'll go ahead and talk her 'er so you can have a fair go. And I promise you, by the time summer vacation starts, you'll be gettin' a pash._

_A what?_

_A kiss yuh fruit loop. C'mon, buck up. _

"Aw come on Nigel," Hank started. "What's not to like?"

_What if she doesn't like me?_

_Now don't start with that mate. What's not to like? _

Wally's heart stopped for a second, his whole body tensed as his chest turned cold.

_I'll be with you every step of the way._

Wally hung his head for a moment, no longer listening to the conversation, pressing his forehead against the cool glass. But the echo of his old friend's voice wasn't doing him any favors. For God's sake the guy was breathing _all of the air_. God dammit…

Nigel chuckled once, Wally has no idea why, but that was all he could take. The boy snatched up his back pack from the floor and pushed his way out of the booth.

"Wally…" Hank mumbled sadly, but Wally ignored him and quickly stepped out of the booth, purposely bumping Nigel who had instinctively moved away from the booth. That finally caught his attention. For the first time in about three years the two former friends made eye contact, but everyone in the room could feel the sparks the two boys set off as they narrowed their eyes at each other, lips curling oh so slightly. One daring the other to make a move, the other reminding him that he didn't matter anymore.

But it was only for a moment, for after that their eyes repulsed each other. Nigel uncurled his lip and scowled at the floor as he released a tense fist. As usual, Wally tightened the grip he on his backpack until his knuckles turned white, growling at himself as he marched through the ice cream parlor.

He tried to stand tall, but after the first few steps he noticed all of the curious stares aimed at him and couldn't take it. He dropped his head so that his bangs covered his eyes and rushed out the door and across the almost empty street, earning a few angry honks from people coming home from work. But he didn't care.

Wally didn't care at all.

* * *

**A/N:** I'M SORRY! The beginning was happy though right? there see, he's on good terms with three out of the four, so that's ok for now. Anyway, sorry that got so long. They honestly started writing themselves, although describing their actions is still a little hard for me. I know there wasn't much plot, but I really don't want to skip over the team's relationship.

**OK, about the next chapter**,I'm curious on whether you guys want some more Wally/Joey brotherly love and then get into the Wally and Kuki plot (the chapter will just be longer) or basically skip the drabble and get right into the Wally and Kuki plot? Just leave your opinions in the reviews. If you're kind of new, then just remember I _do_ plan on having Joey play a major role in the plot later on.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Ha! Already a new chapter! I told you guys I would get better. But no, this isn't the chapter I was talking about before. I have to speed things up a bit since I do have plans for Valentine's Day. And what better way to do that than to add another girl into the equation... *nervous laughter*

And I wanted to show more of Kuki, since she hasn't gotten any major part in this story and I do love her character... contrary to what I do to her in this story...

AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR LOVELY REVIEWS! They're all greatly appreciated and I love you all for them. I know a lot of you have been putting up with me from the beginning, and thank you for your patience and support. You guys really keep me going. ^_^ So the general consensus is to include the brotherly love, so that shall be done in the next chapter. (sorry Megaboxer) So with that and Wally and Kuki's scene the next chapter is going to get pretty long. I know you guys like that, but that also means it'll probably take me a while. NOT A MONTH, but definitely a few days.

Sorry if this isn't as good as most of my chapters. This one was done at two in the morning and I don't know much about ballet.

* * *

**Chapter 20**

_Wednesday, January 22_

_Afterschool (4 pm-ish)_

"Hey! Wally! Wait up!"

Wally turned and painted a crooked smile across his lips. He knew that voice. Lisa. He had vaguely noticed her in the ice cream parlor, but she wasn't confident enough to talk to him in front of Abby and Hank. But now that she had him alone… oh boy. "Hey. Lisa," he greeted, obviously feigning enthusiasm. He hoped his bad acting would give her the hint, but you have to remember that when a girl is love struck, nothing else matters.

She jogged until she was in front of him, a shy smile in place. "Hey, what happened in there? You seemed upset."

Yes sweet heart, because I want to talk about those kinds of things with _you_. "Nah. Nothin really. I just don't like the show pony, that's all. If I don' like someone, there's no point in wasting your time with 'em." Wally carelessly crossed his arms behind his head and shrugged coolly. He did his best to seem careless, but he couldn't his annoyance from showing on his face.

Lisa's smile widened and she grabbed for one of Wally's arms, curling her arms around it. Wally blushed and leaned away from her, not exactly comfortable with her being so close to him… or touching him. But what could he do? Brush her off? He could but… despite his discomfort he didn't want to. Some company would do him some good… "Hey, let's just forget about him, k? He's just some wannabe anyway, right?"

Wally's nervous expression turned into a slight frown as he looked away from her, a fist forming in the arm she was holding. For some reason, it still irritated him when he heard people think poorly of Nigel. He may think a lot of things about the guy, but that's because he _knew_ him… Lisa didn't. "Yeah… I guess."

Lisa seemed to sense his change in mood, because she immediately dropped the flirtatious act, instead choosing to act like she actually cared. "Hey, don't worry about it," she said tenderly. "C'mon, let's get a burger or something. I'm sure that'll get your mind off of it. My treat."

But hey, who went better for than an actor, than an actor. Perhaps if he let her continue to act, he could forget. Wally pushed his hands into his sweater pocket and shrugged acceptingly, shooting her a charming half smile.

That was all the confirmation she needed before smiling like it was Christmas morning and pulling him towards the nearest burger joint by the crook of his arm. They walked in almost complete silence, with her pushing forward, never losing that excited smile, never once looking back to see that unlike his smiles, Wally's eyes were cold.

_Kuki_

Kuki Sanban sighed inwardly. She did it again, her attitude outdid the others' and now she stuck out like a sore thumb. And then when she tried to recover and lower herself down to their level, she underestimated the others and now she would look inferior. She bit her lip and tried to focus on the girl in front of her, and limit her own flexibility to hers.

But she was having a hard time with that. She wasn't used to dulling down her skills, despite the fact that she's been doing it for weeks now.

Kuki suddenly grimaced as she noticed the girl ahead of her ended in the fourth position instead of the third –a mistake that would have been dealt with without mercy in her previous studio. Her fellow dancer must have noticed her grimace because she glared at Kuki through the mirror. Kuki blushed and dropped her gaze, not wanting any trouble.

Kuki allowed her face to fall once she began to spin –only twice, something she could do in her sleep –and she had to bite her lip to prevent a pitiful groan when one girl stumbled on her feet. It wasn't that she was upset at the girl for messing up. No no, not at all! She didn't think less of anyone. But… she knew they would look at her, and hate her because she had completed the move perfectly. The only problem she had with the routine was she went through it at a slightly faster pace than everyone else because she had better flow than the rest of them, so she had to constantly remind herself to slow down.

It was so different from her previous class. The fight to keep up, the embarrassment of not being able to bend as low as everyone else, not able to kick as high as everyone else, not able to move as quickly as everyone else, not being able to jump as high as everyone else…

But now, she was lowering her foot with more control, from a height no one else here was able to reach, and bending forward in a bow with more skill than anyone else in the room –even the teacher.

The instructor applauded loudly, a kind smile on her lips. "Good job everyone, good job! Amy, you need to stretch a bit more. Caroline, remember, third position, not fourth…" Kuki stopped listening, choosing to focus on the floor rather than the whispers and glares aimed to harm her. They had all noticed it as well… the instructor's criticisms had increased since her arrival. These girls, the girls who did ballet for simple pleasure and fun, were used to being accepted and being rewarded despite minor mistakes.

Kuki gently cradled herself in her arms and looked up at the mirror, where her mom was watching her with her seemingly neutral expression… but Kuki could see it. The pity and apology in her eyes.

_5-ish - Kuki  
_

The ride home was mostly quiet, Kuki focusing on the buildings flying by, getting lost while imagining the man running along the fences and in the lamp light, running on roofs when need be. It was admittedly a childish game, but right now all she wanted was childish games.

"I thought you did very well during that last run through. You did well in all of them actually," her mom said in her normal tone.

Kuki could tell she was trying to make her feel better, and she was happy for it. She turned back to her mom and smiled at her. "Thanks mom."

Her mom nodded curtly, and Kuki's mouth twitched upward just a bit more. Her mom wasn't good with "moments", but she didn't mind. She was usually peppy enough for the both of them. But for now Kuki just turned back to the streets, resting her head atop crossed arms. The man ran slightly ahead of… them?

Kuki cocked her head curiously as she noticed a blond head and orange sweater ahead of them as well. The running man forgotten, Kuki's heart started to pick up ever so slightly, a blush forming on her pale cheeks. She lifted her head up, admittedly excited to see the funny wrestler. He seemed to be stopped in front of a house… his maybe? That was weird though. Why would he be waiting in front of his own…

As the car approached them, Kuki could see someone was standing with him, someone smaller. A girl? Maybe. He must have gone out with a couple of friends after she left him. Maybe she should ask her mom to stop the car so she could apologize and give him a ride-

But as the car got closer, Kuki quickly pressed her back against her seat in the car, eyes wide, unable to breathe.

"Wasn't that Wallaby?" her mom asked.

"I think so," Kuki answered quietly, not trusting her voice.

"His mother didn't mention that he had a girlfriend," her mother mentioned matter-of-factly.

Kuki swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to calm her heart. "No… I don't think he does. He dates around a lot though."

"Ah."

Kuki sighed and opened the window, defaulting back to her original position, using the wind as another distraction.

For whatever reason, seeing Wally kiss that girl made her day a lot worse than her dance practice ever could.

* * *

**A/N: **Look, it had to be done OK. He's a player! It was bound to happen. And no, he's not a bad guy. I hope I've made that clear with the last few girls who've tried to flirt with him and the whole scene with Lucas. He's a sweet and desirable guy... although his general demographic is younger girls... I'm not sure how that happened. It makes sense since girls in his grade would have been in his classes and would know better. And Lisa isn't... I wouldn't consider her actually dislikable. She's just has a puppy love problem.

And Kuki's in ballet, having her own little problems. Poor thing. And I'm sorry guys, but it won't get any better. And why doesn't she quit? Because she loves it. It's been her thing.

Sorry guys. BUT we have brotherly love and Kuki/Wally stuff going on in the next chapter. Bear with me.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: **Well, that took longer than I thought it would. **And I'm sorry but this is just the brotherly love portion. (**I got a little writer's block when it came to Wally's parents). It turned out a lot longer than I had thought it would... but they started writing themselves and I couldn't find a good place to end it. Plus I decided to include a little more hints at what Nigel and Wally's relationship was before their fallout. So yes... sorry but Kuki and Wally will have to wait... I'M SORRY! They're just so cute I couldn't stop!

And thank you all for your lovely reviews! They're all as good as chocolate... and I love chocolate. I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying this story so much. ^_^ And Kid4life yeah, I know the younger girls thing happens pretty often. But really it's only been... 2. But high school girls seem to go nuts for guys that are a grade above them... or that's what I noticed. Yes? No? Not true? Ok. My friends are just weird then. I'll add some more same age girls to compete against Kuki fufufu... wait no. I'm being really mean to Kuki... then again I won't be very nice to Wally either pretty soon- whoops! Spoilers!

So this is just Wally and Joey fluff and honestly I thought it was really cute. Joey's in the KND's training program right now, so I'll need to factor that into everything actually. And no, chapters usually won't be like this unless something significant is going on that day. After Thursday I'll start jumping around more.

So this chapter has a lot of weird spellings and Australian slang. Like "Yeeah" it's just Wally's family putting more emphasis on the "Ye" so it sounds like Y/ee/ah. As well as the word "Blue." Apparently the word "blue" means "mistake" in certain contexts.

* * *

**Chapter 21**

_Wednesday, January 22_

_(6-ish)_

"Hey Mom! I'm home!" Wally announced, picking up a lollipop from the plate near the door. He knew he was home later than he was supposed to be, and his mom seemed to go softer on him when he had a piece of candy in his mouth. And then having a sucker in his mouth would help put Wally in a better mood.

"And where 'ave you been? The street lights've been on for fifteen minutes now," his mother scolded from the living room.

"You know the rules boyo, you can't be out-"

Wally slugged into the living room, dramatizing his slow steps "After the street lights I know I know." Wally shrugged, not meeting his parents' eyes I just got caught up with some friends, that's all. Just a little blue." Wally shrugged and popped the blue raspberry lollipop into his mouth.

Wally's mom frowned. "Now Wallaby… I just wanna make sure that you're not doin' anything…"

Wally just rolled his eyes. He knew what she was hinting at, and he knew she had a right to worry when he was with Lucas. "C'mon mom. I was jus' with Abby and Hank."

As he had predicted, his parents lightened up immediately. "Oh those two! I 'aven't seen them in a while," Wally's mother squealed.

Wally shrugged, but his father continued. "Those are some spiffy kid. An' that little sheila Kuki's turned out to be a fine girl ay me bucko?" Wally's dad sent him a wink, but Wally just grimaced at his dad –not in offense to Kuki, but to the fact that his dad was giving him girl advice like that. His dad just laughed at his son's response. "Ey, what ever happened to that other one… there was one more… I swear there was. I remember you used to run around with him when you two were ankle-biters. What was 'is name…"

Wally's shoulders dropped and his playful demeanor dropped. "Nigel, Pop…"

"Nigel! Yeeah that one! You two were good mates you, him, 'n that Hank boy. Both of 'em were smart kids. I remember back in secondary when he would come 'ere and help you with your English and math-"

Wally's mom, noticing Wally's darkened mood, interrupted her husband. Her sympathetic eyes staying on her son. "Now c'mon hun, let the boy shoot through. He 'as a little ankle biter redecorating 'is room right now."

An exasperated smile crossed Wally's face and he laid back against the couch. "Guess I gotta deal with that little bugger then…" Wally sighed, pushing himself off the couch to walk up the stairs.

"Don't break anything dear," his mother called up casually. Wally only smirked and promised nothing.

Once atop the carpeted steps, Wally could see 3 worn cardboard boxes outside his bedroom door. He was too late. Wally dramatically dragged his hand across his face. The little tike had probably taken out most of his stuff from on top of his dresser and desk by now, maybe even his bed covers. The tardy teenager proceeded to his room to find Joey starting to take down one of his favorite posters -wrongly he might add, the little guy was about to rip it!

"Ey ey ey ey!" Wally called out, rushing to grab his younger brother. Joey turned and went wide-eyed when he saw Wally. When Wally ran over to grab him, Joey dodged him, running towards the stripped queen-sized bed where a small nerf gun lay –as well as a pile of Sonic bedsheets waiting to cover the bed.

Wally, knowing the rules of this game, did his best to intercept Joey, trying to block him with his body. Joey used his smaller size and Wally's lack of effort to side step him and duck underneath Wally's initial grab at him. Unfortunately for Joey though, Wally was more than ready for that and immediately lunged backwards to wrap his arms around his brother's waist. Joey tried to twist away as Wally pulled him towards him, and succeeded at first. But Wally was quick and ready for the boy's valiant attempt to escape. Taking two quick steps forward, Wally securely wrapped both arms around his little brother's waist and pulled him into a strangling hug before lifting the small boy off the ground.

"Let… me… go…" demanded a clearly displeased Joey, pushing with all his might against Wally's chest.

Wally smirked smugly. "Not a chance, mate." Wally tucked a squirming Joey tightly under his arms. He was getting heavy, bigger. Just a few months ago Wally was still able to cradle him like an indignant baby. But now adays he could still just tuck him under his arm and carry him back without problems. Well, he still hit him and kneed him a bit, but it wasn't any harder than the boys in the gym or in the parking lots would.

"Put me down!" Joey ordered, trying to use his feet to hook into Wally's door frame.

"_Not_ a chance," Wally grunted, jerking to the side to free his prisoner from the door frame. But that didn't put a damper on Joey's fight. It actually made him fight harder as impending defeat approached. Wally just snickered down at him as they entered Joey's room. Joey fought back like a caged dog once they crossed the threshold, elbowing Wally painfully in the ribs. "Ey, watch it yuh little monster."

Joey became more panicked once they approached his bed and –finally, Wally thought –pushed against Wally's arm to loosen his hold. Wally hadn't expected his little brother to stop using brute force, so he accidentally dropped his baby brother. He was frightened at first, thinking his little brother would fall on his face. Luckily for the elder child, Joey caught himself on his hands instead. Joey quickly turned around and tried to run away, but the moment he stood up Wally had him by the waist. The small blond braced himself for impact just before Wally threw him onto the bare mattress.

"There," Wally announced, breathing heavily. "Game over."

Joey lifted his torso up with his hands, just to flop back on his back with a frustrated "Ugh."

Wally chuckled and kneeled down at the foot of Joey's stripped bed and crossed his arms over the wood. "So, I see you got a lot done today."

Joey straightened up and sat with his legs crossed, a serious scowl on his face. "Well _you're_ the one who took forever," he accused sternly. "I was waiting in your stinky closet for 50 bajillion hours!"

"It's only six kiddo," Wally corrected with a warm smirk.

Joey stuck out his tongue, and continued. "And I thought you _died. _And you_ said_ that if you died I get your room, so I started moving in."

Wally rolled his eyes.

Once when he got in a bad bike accident and he got banged up enough he had to go to the hospital. Joey had come to his room crying and screaming bloody murder, thinking his big brother was going to die. The tike was only 4 then, and Wally had to calm him down since he wouldn't listen to his parents. First, Wally had to explain to him that he wasn't going to die, and prove it by smacking him upside the head. Then, he told Joey that if he died, he'd get his room anyway. For whatever reason, that cheered Joey up in a heartbeat. But Wally didn't mind.

So now every time Wally stays out too late and skips their little brawls, Joey shows his displeasure by moving into Wally's room. Although once Joey moved Wally out completely and they both left their stuff in the hall for a week so their mom limit them to 3 boxes.

"Ok yuh little bugger, you and I both know that I was still kickin'."

Joey crossed his arms and pouted. "_I_ didn't. You didn't come home again."

Wally dropped his head into his arms and chuckled to himself. The amused teen looked back up at his little brother. "Well sorry mate, but I'm still alive. Looks like you're gonna have to put up with your puny little-" Wally's train of thought was interrupted by a small strip of color on Joey's knee. "Ay, what happened there?" Wally asked, concerned.

Joey looked down at his knee and covered it up quickly, glowering at the floor. "Nuthin…"

Wally stood up and walked over to Joey, shaking his head. "Nah, nah, nah, nah. What happened to your knee, mate? Lemme see." Wally kneeled to the side of Joey's bed.

Joey grudgingly obliged and swung his legs over the side of his bed. "It's nothing," he argued.

"Oh yeah?" Wally nonchalantly flicked the blue rainbow monkey band-aid.

Joey cried out angrily and quickly pulled his knee to his chest. "That hurt!"

"I know it did yuh little cheat. What happened?" Joey didn't meet Wally's eyes, an angry blush forming on his cheek. "Joey?" Wally pressed impatiently. Clearly this wasn't just a trip or a fall off the monkey bars.

"I made a little blue…" Joey grumbled.

"Yeeah? What kinda blue?"

Joey pressed his cheek against his knee, but didn't say anything. Wally waited this time. He had an idea of what happened, and Beatles boys weren't fond of admitting their defeats. Wally least of all. "I can't tell you."

Wally leaned back in shock. That's not one he's ever heard. _Don't wanna_ was one thing, _can't_ was a new one. "Yeeah? Why not?"

Joey still didn't look at him. "It's supposed to be a secret from the teenagers…"

Wally nodded slowly. That's right. The little guy was talking about joining those Kids Next Door bunch. "This about the Kids Next Door, Joe?" Joey didn't respond. Wally shrugged and lay back on his hands. "Alright, fair enough. I don' gotta beat any of 'em up though do I?" Wally asked lightheartedly.

Joey laughed –finally –and looked at his brother like the idea was the silliest thing in the world. "_No!_ It was just practice- oops!" Joey immediately covered his mouth in both hands.

Wally smiled victoriously, not that he had meant to weasel it out of the kid. But it'd keep Joey from freaking out. "Training with the big brats now are we?"

Joey looked absolutely horrified and slid his hands down his chin. "Please don't tell? I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, not even my brother! They'll kick me out of they find out!"

Wally sighed and went back to kneeling. Maybe this wasn't the time for games. "C'mon mate, you know I won't tell. But since the cat's outta the bag, how about tellin' me how _that_ happened?"

Joey scowled down at his knee and finally dropped it, unconsciously playing with his fingers. "We were practicing tackling. One of the kids moved out of the way and I scratched my knee. Mom said it wasn't too bad but it _really_ hurt when anything touched it so I asked her to put a band-aid on it."

Wally nodded thoughtfully and looked up at his brother. "Looks like you tore up your jeans too. Mom give yuh an earbeating for that?" Joey shrugged, guess it wasn't too bad "Mind if I take a look?" Joey grimaced. Wally gave him an exasperated look. "C'mon yuh nancy. It won't hurt."

"…fine." Wally peeled off the band-aid fairly quickly. "Ooouuuch! You said it wouldn't hurt!"

Wally just rolled his eyes and looked at the scrape. Looks like their mom had cleaned it up, and it wasn't too deep. Probably didn't bleed very much. It probably burned at first though. Wally's gotten quite a few scrapes in the same area, and he assumed there was a nerve or something there since it hurt too much to be normal. Although band-aid wasn't letting it breathe so it hadn't scabbed over yet. "You cry yuh little brat?"

"No! Of course not! The kids woulda laughed at me if I did! I can't have the trainers laughing at me!"

Wally scoffed and shook his head. He reminded him too much of him sometimes. "You look alright you little sheila," Wally decided, patting Joey's leg. "Mom letting you keep your jeans?"

"Yeah. I told her it made me look like a tough guy," Joey answered with his best smirk. Wally chuckled and ruffled his hair. Joey pouted under his messy bangs. "Mom did the same thing!" Joey yelled indignantly as he fixed his hair. "Why doesn't anyone think I can be a tough guy!"

Wally rolled his eyes as he stood up, deciding to dodge the question. "Eehh quit your whining and start your homework yuh little bugger."

"Wait!" Joey called out before Wally walked out of the room. Wally turned around, hands in his sweater pockets. "…You need to get me another band-aid."

"Why?"

"It hurts!"

Wally snickered. "I thought you were a _tough guy_ huh? What happen to that idea? Yuh lousy little show pony." Wally shook his head and started walking out of his little brother's room again.

"But Wally-y-y-yy" Joey begged, bouncing on his bed desperately.

Wally groaned and turned back to his little brother. "Fine. But take it off tomorrow so it'll scab and look cool. Plus it'll stop hurting so much when things touch it." Wally started walking out of the room again.

Joey grimaced. "But it looks gross…"

Wally groaned and walked back to Joey's door. This kid still had a lot to learn. "Ay! Show your scars mate. The girls love 'em and it shows you're a tough guy… you _are_ a tough guy aren't you?"

The little bugger puffed his chest up like Superman. "'Course I am!"

"There you go. Be right back."

"Hey Wally?" Joey called again.

Wally trudged back to the door, exaggerating his annoyance that he wouldn't let him leave. "Whaat?" he groaned.

He paused for a minute and looked down at his swinging feet. "Do… you think the scabb'll impress the other kids? So the trainers will like me?"

Wally smirked warmly. "C'mon mate. You'll be great. With or without the band-aid…" Wally sized up his puny little brother, his eyes still a little watery from Wally flicking his band-aid before. "Then again, maybe you do need some help. Here, skippin' out on the band-aid'll teach you somethin'." Wally quickly pulled away from the doorframe, heading towards the bathroom

"What?! _**Waaaaallyyyyyyy!**_" Joey whined loudly.

"Wallabyyy! What're you doin' to little Joey?" their father yelled from downstairs.

"I'm getting him a lousy band-aid!"

"He's lying!"

"Am not!" Wally shouted over his shoulder indignantly.

"Shush you two our show's starting!" their mom shouted, obviously not concerned about their little fight. She knew better than to get in-between their little spats.

"_**Mooom**_ tell Wally to get me a band-aid!"

Wally stomped back to Joey's room and held up a package of band-aids. "Here yuh little mug! Now rack off!" Wally threw the box at Joey carelessly.

"Ow! _**Moooom**_ Wally threw the box at me!" Joey shouted downstairs.

"Noooo I didn't," Wally called out nonchalantly, picking up a couple of the boxes off the floor with a smirk on his face.


End file.
